Bughead series, My Serpent Queen
by BlodreinaBeauty
Summary: A series of bughead one shots which are all in some way connected. Most of them are hurt/comfort and romance. Jughead is hurt and in the hospital and Betty comes to comfort him. Betty becoming his serpent queen. Seasons 1-4. A couple of character based, plot extension AU's with a lot of comfort and romance. A couple of rated M. I don't own anything Riverdale.
1. Bughead

**Jughead in the Hospital**

I can see her face before she even enters the room through that stupid window I was just loathing earlier. Now it is the window to my Betty. She rushes into me, tears on her face, looking scared. I envelop her into my arms.

"I'm so sorry, Juggie," she says.

We hold each other there for a while, just resting in the other's arms. I put my head on her shoulder and then decide she still is not yet close enough.

"Closer, Betty," I tell her.

She starts to attempt to climb onto the bed with me. She looks worried, constantly afraid she might hurt me.

"I don't want to hurt you," she says with worry.

"It's alright. You won't."

"What did they do to you, Juggie?" she asks through her tears, breaking my heart. I put my hand on her face when she tries to sit up to look at me. my heart aches for her to be closer. I hold onto her shoulder.

"Please don't cry, Betty," I say, brushing the tears away.

"How bad does it hurt?" she asks. _Please don't ask me that_ , I think. She can tell I don't want to answer so she cries more. I don't move my hand from her face, biting my lip to keep from doing the same.

"Juggie, what is it?" she asks.

"Come here," I beg her, sounding pathetic. That most basic human emotion is the only one I can feel in this dreadful moment. Fear. So much fear.

"Please, Betty," I beg.

"Juggie, what's wrong? I know it's not this that's hurting. It's something else too. Tell me."

"You. Crying. Over me. And I wasn't there for you during this whole thing. I should have been," I tell her.

She shakes her head and this time returns her hand to my face. "It's okay. Tell me what they did?"

"They grabbed me and a bunch of them hit and kicked me. I wasn't breathing and apparently, I started again. My dad found me and brought me here. I wanted to be with you so badly. I'm glad you're here now," I spill but I don't want to tell her the other part.

She pushes my hair out of my face and kisses my forehead. I lean closer to her, letting her comfort me. I grab her arm, pulling her closer as gently as I can. She puts her arm under my back and neck and I let my head rest on her chest.

"I'm scared, Betty," I say.

"Oh, Jug," she says with worry.

"Not of them. Of being alone I guess…of pushing you away when I need you and letting you push me away again."

She squeezes me in her arms gently and puts her hand on my head, almost as if petting me. I want to make a funny comment but I don't want her to stop.

"You are not alone," Betty says. "We aren't going to do that again."

"You won't go?" I ask her.

"No. Not ever again."

I smile and hold her close, feeling her warmth envelop me. I let myself calm, actually relax and let that most natural human emotion slip away with her precious arms. The most complicated one comes next. It's obvious but filled with all other kinds of emotions.

"I love you, Betty," I tell her. I can almost hear the smile in her voice.

"I love you too."

 **Betty's Nightmare**

I feel her toss and turn beside me, throwing her arm over my body. I grab her arm and turn to her with a smirk.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"NO!" she shouts.

I realize it all at once. I grab her arm and move her off of me. I rub my hand across her soft arm. She doesn't wake up. Her beautiful face is ruined with panic and worry. Her eyes are pushed together and her body is shaking, constantly turning in every direction. The clock at the side of my bed tells me that we have three more hours before we have to get up for school. I put my hand on the side of my face.

"No!" she shouts again.

"Betty!" I tell her, grabbing her wrist when she tries to bat my hand away. I hold onto her fingers, kissing them.

"Come on, Betty. Please wake up," I beg her.

Tears fall down he face in her clenched eyes. She throws her body around again, almost hitting me. I hold onto her wrists and then decide that I have to bring her closer. She needs me and I'm going to make the demons go away. I put my arm underneath of her body, pulling her entire being close to me. she is almost naked, wearing literally nothing but one of my dark purple S shirts. I push her body onto mine, encompassing her in my arms.

"Betty," I tell her, feeling her tears on my bare chest. "Please, Betty! Wake up! I've got you. Just wake up."

I hear her gasp and then grab onto my wrist.

"It's okay. You're okay," I tell her.

"What? Why?" she asks, never finishing either sentence. I make her look at me, still keeping one strong arm around her body so that she might feel just a little bit safer. She lays with her head on my bicep, tears falling down her face and her lower lip trembling. I brush them away carefully, kissing her forehead and whispering to her.

"What happened, beautiful?" I ask her, pushing her sweaty hair from her face and resting my hand on her cheek.

She shakes her head, trying to speak but not able to say anything. I kiss her forehead, begging my eyes to stop watering. I can't let her see this right now. She can't know that I am just as afraid as she is.

"The black hood…when he told me to break up with you. I cried all night. I knew I was hurting you. I love you so much. There was no reason that I ever had to break up with you. I never wanted to hurt you and I knew that it would," she says.

"Why are we talking about this now, Betty?" I ask, hoping that same pain will not come back. I can almost feel it returning to my chest like a vice grip on my heart. I can't handle it. Not when I have so many other thoughts going on in my head.

"In my dream, I had to hurt you. Not just break up with you. Worse," she says, crying, her chest heaving, breathing too hard. "He held the gun and my hand. He told me to shoot you. I couldn't and then…" Betty cries harder, burying her face in my arm.

I hold her around her body, cradling her head and kissing her forehead. I run my hand over her hair, soothing her, enveloping her entire body with mine to calm her. It doesn't work. I have never heard her this afraid before. I kiss her head again, begging her to calm down. I feel the tears in my eyes pushing harder than before. My chest is on fire. I attempt putting it out, breathing slow and calm. It doesn't work. Her pain is my pain now. I didn't lie when I told her that I loved her and neither did she. But she knew I thought she was lying. She knew she hurt me. If I thought I destroyed the very ground she walked on, I might be as crushed as she is right now, no matter the circumstances.

That is when I realize I know what she needs to hear.

"Betty Cooper, listen to me," I demand in a powerful but quiet voice. Betty picks her head up, giving me those beautiful eyes that are still filled with tears. Her hair falls in her face so I hold it back with my hand on her head. I make her look at me, keeping her frame still.

"I forgive you," I say. "I forgive you for sending Archie. I forgive you for breaking up with me. I forgive you for all of it and I hold no grudge against you or any of the decisions that you were forced to make to protect me."

She gives me a small smile. I hope she believes me. She just has to believe me. I can't stand this pain anymore. I need her to be okay for me to be okay. She nods.

"I love you," she says.

I smile, not able to hold the tears that fall down onto my cheeks when she says it. She finally smiles and I feel a little safer than I was.

"I love you too," I say.

"You don't ever have to doubt that I love you. I never lied. I never stopped. I never wanted any of it. I have never wanted anything other than to support, care for and love you, Jughead Jones," she says, smiling.

I hold up my hand to hers and cross our fingers in each other. I pull her head close to me, keeping my hand on the back of her neck where I know I can make her feel safe. I kiss her on the lips. She returns the kissing a few times before she is pushing herself over my hips. I hold onto her back, sitting up so that I can conform her body to mine.

"I don't want to sleep," she says.

"You don't have to," I tell her and kiss her again, getting lost in her perfect body.

"I want you Juggie," Betty says with eyes filled with need. Not just need for me or our fornication. But need for something else. She needs to forget the terrors that haunted her sleep. She needs to forget hurting me and Veronica and everyone else. She needs to feel something special and real. She needs to feel it all with me. I can make that happen. I can promise to make that happen, for her.

"I can keep the demons away," I promise.

"Be with me," she says, leaning down to kiss my neck.

"I will," I promise. "I will."


	2. Jughead Nightmare

**Jughead's Nightmare**

I would never have thought that Juggie was capable of having a nightmare. He is so clear about everything he wants, always working, always feeling and always being honest. I have been sleeping her for some nights now and I have never felt him thrash around. We have slept together before and never have I witnessed this kind of pain. His face contorts into a pained expression. His eyes clench and his hand holds tightly onto the sheets beneath him. He is laying straight on his back, thrashing his head.

I grab his hand and squeeze it so tight that my own knuckles turn white. I do this for a few seconds but he never moves. He trembles so I put my face to his and kiss his cheek.

"It's alright," I tell him.

He doesn't budge.

"Jughead," I say, confused as to what is wrong with him. I shake him again but he doesn't move, just trapped in his own personal hell. I shake him, holding onto his shoulder and trying to show him that I am here with him.

"Betty!" he shouts and sits straight up.

It scares me but I keep it under control to calm him. I put my hand on his back, soothing him carefully. I put my hand on his shoulder and my other arm around his body. His entire body is shaking, shivering and breathing heavily, as if he was just in a fight. He turns to me, realizing I am with him. His eyes look surprised and shocked. He bites his trembling lip and then puts his shaking hands on either side of my face.

"Don't break up with me again," he says.

"What?" I ask.

"After Archie telling me…me pushing you away…I know I apologized for it. But I can't ever get rid of the idea that I hurt you. Please…no matter how much I hurt you, don't break up with me. Don't leave me."

I nod, understanding but not quite getting the level of broken that he is currently experiencing. I put my hand on his shoulder, wrapping my arm around him to keep him close to me. He makes me look at him. His eyes are sad. I think I can almost see a hint of water, maybe tears in the brim of his redness that makes my heart break in my chest. I want to squeeze him, make him feel better but I have no idea what to do.

"Betty," he whispers.

I look right into his eyes.

"Please promise that if I hurt you, you'll just tell me. Promise that you aren't going to leave me," he begs.

"Juggie, why are you asking this? What happened?"

He shakes his head and looks down at his lap. Tears fall down his face and onto the mattress. He wipes his hand down his face and presses his trembling lips together. I can feel my heart cracking and breaking wide open in my chest.

"Nightmare," he said.

"I heard you. Tell me what happened."

"I pushed you away. You listened. You left me and said you were never coming back. I thought I woke up but it was in my dream. My dad came to me with your serpent queen jacket and handed it to me. I didn't understand."

He is already getting upset. He is starting to shake again, his breathing getting worse. I kiss the side of his face, putting my hand on the side of his face to keep him close. He rests his face on mine so we are staring right at each other. I hold him there, one of his strong arms around my waist. He kisses my cheek.

"Then he told me that you were dead." His voice breaks at the last part. I put my arm on his shoulders, letting him lay his head down on my shoulder.

"Don't let me get you hurt, Betty. Not anymore. Please," he begs.

"Alright. It's alright, Jug. I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. I've been here with you this entire time," I say, putting my hand in his hair. He doesn't let anyone touch his hair but me. I love putting my hands through his dark beautiful, always greasy long locks.

"Jug, everything is fine," I promise.

"Sorry. I don't know what happened. I never have nightmares like that," he admits. I can see the shame on his face as he pulls away and lays back down. He rests his head on the pillow and closes his eyes but I can see the trembling fear in his jaw. I lay down beside him, putting my arm across his chest.

"Jug," I say.

He doesn't even open his eyes.

"Jug. Look at me, please," I beg.

He opens his eyes and turns his head, still looking afraid but also a little annoyed, as if that terrifying dream also made him feel shame and embarrassment. I don't know what to say or how to say it. I wish that I could fix what he saw or take it away.

"It's okay," I tell him. "We are going to be fine. I have nightmares sometimes about us. We've been together for a long time, Jug. You always help me when I have a nightmare and never let me feel bad about it."

He gives me that tiny smile that makes me always feel a little better. Jug turns on his side to face me so that I can rest my hand on his chest and keep him close to me.

"Let me help you," I beg.

"I'm not good at that," he admits, keeping that smirk.

"I know. Let me try," I ask.

He nods and opens his arms to me so I crawl into them, kissing his neck and then his jaw. After a few seconds my hands roam to other parts of his body as my confidence grows.

"I love you, Betty," he gets out right before a moan.


	3. Jughead Apology

" **Every decision I have ever made after our break up, including our break up, has just made things worse and worse."**

 **Jughead talks to Betty about this as if this comment was actually in his trailer (not at the party) before he asks her to stay.**

Once the words are out of my mouth I know I can't take them back. I am already shaking, the words coming out of my mouth so fast that they feel more like word vomit. I swallow hard, feeling bile rising and worry with it. She reaches her arm over to me, setting her hand on my sleeve. I look down at it, remembering all at once how much comfort I feel with just one of her small touches. It is enough to calm me for a moment.

"Juggie," she says, squeezing my hand.

I look up into her eyes, trying to control my own body, my emotions but I am losing that battle.

"You haven't called me that in a while," I say. She smiles a little. I reach my hand over, feeling my heart beating in my chest.

"I wasn't kidding about what I said," I say.

"I know," she says. "I haven't called you that because you haven't been acting like yourself. And I am starting to realize I think I know why."

I bite my lip and look away, hoping to god that she will keep her hand on my arm. I beg her to keep herself close in my head. I beg her to stay close, to touch me, hold me closer to her like we are so used to doing.

"What is it?" Betty asks.

"I am so scared all the time of everything that I do without you. I didn't know that it would hurt so much," I admit. It is like that word vomit again and I can't take a single word of it back. All of it hurts too bad to be kept inside. I have to tell someone. She is the only one that I can tell. She is the only one that will understand why I can't control the tears forming in my own eyes.

"I was stupid to react the way I did. I should have asked you why you broke up with me," I admit.

"I never should have done it! I am so sorry, Juggie. I never wanted to—"

"I know," I say, sitting beside her, practically hearing her heartbeat and wishing that she could be just a little closer to me, just feel me enough for me to stay calm. But I don't dare reach over just yet. I am not ready for rejection.

"The truth is, I've been miserable. I am making bad choices because I feel alone in the world again," I say, admitting the painful truth. "And I really don't want to feel that way."

"Me too," she agrees. Oh god. That means I let her hurt this bad? I let her feel this pain? Cry herself to sleep at night? Pick up the phone dozens of times but never call? Wait days and days to say these words?

"I'm so sorry, Betty," I mumble, begging the emotion to stay back.

"Me too," she agrees.

"No. You were trying to help. You were trying to be yourself, to be with me, to be a part of my world. I should have appreciated that. I do appreciate that." I take a long breath. "I shouldn't have pushed you away… I was terrified. I saw you dancing on that stage and you were all I wanted. I wanted you to wear what you were and talk how you were and be with me how you were but that meant turning you to the dark side and…I wasn't ready to be that kind of villain," I explain, feeling a little bit more like maybe I am starting to make sense. I hoping so because I am running out of the right words. She looks understanding, her beautiful face nodding as she watches me.

"And now?" she asks, dropping her hand from my arm and leaving me breathless and begging her to bring it back. But that is just what it looks like from the inside. On the outside, I sit ruthlessly staring, as if this gaping wound was not spewing blood between the both of us.

"Now I'm still scared I'll hurt you if you're mixed up in this," I say, standing my ground.

"But?" she asks.

"But I love you, Betty," I say.

Her face is bewildered and surprised. She stares back at me with a small smile that I am never going to forget. I want to reach over to her but I can't handle it just yet. There will be a time. I wait for her to say it back, to say something but she doesn't. My heart hurts, the kind of hurt that is throbbing, aching and stabbing all at once. But just for a moment…it's all gone with three words.

"I love you," she says with a nod. "I love you, Juggie."

"Look," I say. "I will be apologizing for it for the rest of my life but I'm sorry. I am. For feeling like I needed to shield you from going through what I was going through with the serpents or…my darkness," I say with an almost sarcastic chuckle. I look down at my hands, begging her to respond but unsure of how to feel. I just need her to forgive me so this can all be over and I have her back.

"I can handle it," she says with confidence.

I meet her eyes.

"I know. I know you can."

We both sit in complete silence, inches apart and just begging the other one to move first. I want to feel her so badly my body is actually aching, tingling in its wait for her. I can feel hers doing the same thing. I know almost everything about her. I know that her heart is beating fast. She is hoping that I will say something. I am too.

"Well I should probably start heading home," she says. I panic but then decide that there is no reason for that. I need her to stay with me.

I reach my hand over to her skirt and just barely brush the tips of my fingers against hers. My eyes are as pleading as my soft voice.

"Or you could stay," I offer and then meet her equally desperate eyes. "Stay."

She doesn't have to nod. She starts leaning into me, so I get the idea. I put my hand in her hair to kiss her. Our lips find each other so easily. Our bodies have missed each other's touch. I let her hips rest on mine, pulling the zipper of her dress down and letting my lips trace her neck and jaw until they find her breast. Panting and moaning, she puts her hands on my shirt, telling me to stop.

"What? What is it?"

Betty looks inquisitive for a moment before she puts on a gentle honest smile and starts undoing the buttons of my shirt.

"Nothing. I just…I want you…I want all of you, tonight," she says.

Then we are kissing again: passionately and in each other's arms until I pick her up and bring her to the back bedroom where I lay her down under the stars, remove the rest of our clothing and make her mine.


	4. Jughead hospital II

**Jughead Hospital II**

Betty was really the only one that I wanted to see. Being the with the others was nice. It gave me a chance to feel like we were all going to be okay again one day. But it didn't change the fact that everything hurt like a bitch. I declined their pain medications every time they offered. It didn't matter that my face was ruined, my ribs are broken, my tattoo was carved from my body and forearm is cracked. I don't want them. I don't want another substance that could ruin what I have with Betty like alcohol ruined what my dad had with my mom and Jellybean, and sometimes me.

After the chit chat with Archie and Veronica is coming to a slow close, it is becoming more and more difficult for me to hide this pain. I arch my back but that my makes my ribs hurt. I shake my leg but that makes my body shake. I try talking and find myself out of breath. Betty is starting to notice slowly, as she always notices my lies. I see her give Archie a look, despite my secretive manly wishes. He nods to her but then starts talking about something else, changing the subject. I comply, adding in what I can but the pain is so bad that I can't sit still any longer. I look to Betty, squeezing her hand so tight that I think she understands.

"Jug, you should really get some sleep," Betty offers.

"Yeah, Jughead," Veronica agrees. "Today has been intense. We'll leave you two alone."

Archie nods and stands up, grabbing my wrist and nodding at me on the way by. They leave the room just like that and I let out a loud groan. I can see it scares Betty so I pull her wrist closer.

'Sorry, Betty," I say. "I was losing the battle there."

"So I saw," she admits. "You're not going to take any medicine at all?"

"I can't," I say. "I'm too scared."

She nods and puts her hand on mine. She kisses my hand and then up my arm until she reaches my neck. Though my head and face hurt, I am completely distracted by this event, allowing her to take me in, make me feel something other than this pain that racks my entire body.

"Thanks for getting rid of them," I say when she stops with that cute small, shy smile of hers. It's not so shy when she puts on that outfit though. That kind of carnal relation is specifically saved for none other than Jughead Jones, the man that receives the sexy Betty unafraid and unapologetic. The thought is only a momentary lapse in pain. But then my ribs are screaming at me again.

"You don't have to thank me," she says when I allow myself to close my eyes and let my head rest back. The pain feels worse than before somehow, as if it might take me over soon. I am afraid of it so I squeeze her hand again.

"Jug. Maybe just some mild pain medicine? No opioids. Just something to relieve this," she says.

I shake my head, making her understand how badly I need to stay away from that kind of stuff. But I have just lost the battle. The pain increases and tears fall down either side of my face. I groan and stay still, begging it to pass. It doesn't. I can't think straight. I can't move. It's as if the pain from every hour of today has just added on top of the next hour and here I am, ready to scream.

"Jug!" she says. I realize all at once that she doesn't see me cry very often, especially not because I am in this kind of pain. The physical kind.

I open my arm to her. She climbs onto the bed on my good side and rests her head down. Of course, my ribs are still screaming but this position provides nothing but comfort for the rest of my body: so much comfort in fact that the tears slow down and the pain does not force me to scream. Instead I am holding onto her with my body, begging.

"What do you need?" she asks.

I can't get out the right words. I try but my voice just cracks so I cough and try again. I sound stupid. I feel stupid. But she doesn't care. I can hear the tears in her voice. tears that I caused because I got myself hurt and she cares about me. She cares about me. More tears. Shit, I curse at myself.

"Anything," I mutter.

"Like what? I don't know what that means and I need to distract you," she says.

"Please, Betty," I beg, no longer able to say anything else. I can feel her start to get up and move. I grab her wrist with all of the strength that I have and look her right in the eyes, pretending not to feel shame with my soaking wet cheeks and crying eyes.

"Don't leave," I beg.

"I was just going to get the doctor," she says.

I manage a shake of my head. She nods, understanding. Betty climbs back with me, letting our bodies relax into each other. I feel the panic start to rise as I think about the consequences of every bad choice I have made here. I think about how much I hurt her and everyone else. I think about how much I will continue to hurt her every moment that I am in pain. I can't stand it anymore

"Betty," I say.

"Yeah?"

"Please talk."

She nods against me.

"I've been wanting to ask you this for a while. I know it's silly and I hope it doesn't scare you but I was thinking about Polly and her babies. Then I was thinking about how strange her name choices were." She pauses and I can tell it's because she's afraid. I nudge her shoulder, urging her to keep going. "I thought about a Forsythe the Fourth."

I am frozen, shocked but smiling. Not just a smirk either. A real, happy, elated smile. If anyone asked, I would deny it but the tears in my eyes that form are from that last statement, not the pain.

"I do think that the continuous name thing is a little ridiculous," I admit, attempting to ignore the pain.

"Oh," she says almost offended. I realize what I did and fix it right away, making her smile again.

"But…I think that if we came up an epic nickname, close to mine but not quite the same standard, maybe that would be a really good idea, Betty Cooper," I manage and then take a deep breath, sending my ribs into another screaming frenzy. I clench my eyes shut for a long second.

"Unless of course, it's a girl," she says.

"Oh, I already have the perfect idea for that," I tell her with obvious joy.

She turns her head to look at me and smiles the best Betty Cooper soon to be Jones smile I have ever seen in my life. It is one so happy that the entire world could be falling down around us and I wouldn't care. If my last gaze is to stare at my beautiful girlfriend's smile, the end of the world might just be alright.

"What is that?" she asks, biting her lip after and staring at me.

"Nancy."

She puts her hands gently on either side of my broken face and kisses my lips so softly I wonder if she was really there. But for now, it is enough to calm the pain, even if only for just a moment.

"I love you Betty Cooper," I say.

"I love you too."

"Sleep here? With me?"

She nods as if there is no question about her sleeping arrangements and rests her arm over my chest gently.

"One day Juggie, we're going to have the most beautiful life a pair like us could ask for," she says against my hospital gown.

"One day? No, Betty. Every day, I have with you, no matter how many murders I have to solve, or beatings I have to take, is the most wonderful day in past, present and future."

The pain is still there in the back of my body. But it doesn't matter. Not when you have a woman like this to call your own.


	5. Bughead after the Questioning

**Overwhelming Odds**

 **This is after Sheriff Keller questions Jughead. This is after the problem with his Dad and saying he will go with him and then walking away with Betty.**

"Come on, Jug," she says, prompting my emotions. I want to ignore them on one hand and on the other, I want to fall into her embrace and cry my eyes out. Either way, I am not going to jail. But they questioned me. I was so scared. I know Betty saw it. My dad didn't even show up and when he did, it was like he was angry with them, not worried about me. And I was terrified. I still am terrified.

"What happened?" she asks. "Before all of that."

"He lied. He said he wasn't drinking and he was. He said he would quit and be a good dad now but he sucks," I admit.

She wraps her arm around me, sitting on the front steps of her house. I want nothing more than to lean my entire body over and rest my head in her arms. I don't. I stick to my ground, keeping both of our arms around the other's waist.

"I always believed you, Jug," she says in a small voice. I can tell she is worried about me, thinking I might fall of some kind of ledge or something like my father always does in bad situations. But I am not him. I don't want to hurt anyone or yell at anyone. I just want to feel safe.

"I know," I tell her. "Thank you."

"So did everyone there, even Keller when he realized what an idiot he was," she says. Betty wraps her arm into mine like two sloths making connections. She wants me to look at her. I can already feel the gaze on the side of my head. I turn my face to find her puppy like eyes staring at me. "You can talk to me, Juggie."

I am losing control now. I had little of it to begin with.

"I thought I was going to freak out in there, Betty," I admit.

"But you didn't. You did a really great job. That was traumatic, Jug. You are allowed to be upset by it," she promises, as if I need to hear that to gain permission to cry or something stupid. But I know she is right. I am not going to show her unless I can't control it. In this moment, I don't want to control it.

"I know," I say again. "If you weren't there, Betty… I don't know what I would have done in that room."

"You were brave, Jug," she says with a small hopeful smile.

I shrug. I wasn't. I was weak.

I sniffle, taking in a shaking breath. She puts her hand on my back, rubbing it as if soothing me. it is quite relaxing. I rest my head on her shoulder finally. She lets me, holding me close. I can feel her squeeze me just a little around my shoulders. It gives me enough comfort to keep myself calm.

"I am so tired of taking care of myself, Betty," I mutter.

"I know," she says in an equally sad voice.

She pets my hair down and adjusts my beanie on my head. I can feel her sweet lips kiss my forehead.

"You don't have to anymore," she says with bravery. "You have me now. You shouldn't have to always take care of yourself. This is one of those times. Just let me take care of you. Let me help you."

I understand what she means. I put my body weight on her. I can feel her holding my up in that sitting position as the tears fall rapidly and without mercy. The pain in my chest comes with them, taking every ounce of dignity I had left in this terrible situation. I can feel her kiss my forehead and hold me while I shake and cry into my girlfriend.

"Oh, Jug," she says. "You have been strong for too long."

She mutters things like this as she holds onto me. I can hear the tears laced within her voice as well but I know she doesn't want me worried about her.

"Don't worry, jug, I see the beauty in your demons," she promises.

I realize then that she is not ashamed of me. She is proud of me. I don't understand it, but I appreciate it because these demons come with a laundry list of demands that we have only just begun.

"You aren't going to be alone anymore," she promises.

"You won't either, Betty," I promise through my pain. "You'll never be alone again."


	6. Jughead Comforts Betty

**Talk to Me**

I feel her sit up beside me. I roll my head over and put my hand to her back, wanting her to come lay back down.

"Where are you going?" I ask. She turns back around and grabs the shirt that is handing off the side of my bed. She tries to unfold it as her face turns into a frown.

"What?" I ask and then worry flashes all over my body. I sit up and wrap my arm around her shoulders. "Did I not…? I mean was everything okay?"

She smiles, nodding and looking genuine. "It was amazing," she says. "But my mom is going to want me home."

"You've been home. You need time to heal from all of this too," he says. "Just stay here with me."

Betty looks upset, holding the shirt in her hands on her lap and resting her head on my shoulder. I take if from her slowly and kiss the top of her head. I feel her lean closer so I can hold her weight.

"If you were going to leave, you might not want to wear my shirt," I tell her, tossing to the floor with the rest of our strewn about clothes. I pull her down so that she can lay on my chest. I pull her body to mine, feeling her taking comfort in my being able to hold her.

"I meant what I said in the hospital," I tell her, feeling thick emotion begin the back of my throat. "I am so sorry that I wasn't there for you. I should have been…instead of playing sacrificial puppy. I should have been there for you when he was caught. I should have been able to save you from having to hurt your father and watch him try to kill her mother. I never should have let that happen."

"Whoa, Juggie. No. I'm okay," she promises, sitting up and resting her hand on my chest. I look into her perfect eyes and find a certain kind of calm that I can't get anywhere else. But I find something she thinks that she is hiding. Sadness. I squeeze her hand and kiss her forehead, playing with our fingers on my chest.

"No, you're not," I say.

My Betty looks upset but also brave. Too brave. Her slender body is rigid. Her eyes are filled with un-spilled water and her face is tormented with pain. I put my hand on her cheek, right beside her face and curls a small piece of her hair in my finger a few times, letting it wrap around.

"Betty," I prompt. "Come on."

"I don't know," she says.

"You do. You're upset. You're dad—"

"My dad shot my best friend's father, made your dad look guilty, killed so many people, made me break up with you, made me hurt you, made me do the one thing that could really hurt you. And he threatened you, Jug. He was going to…"

Those tears are falling freely down her face as her chest gets lose in sobs. I grab her and pull her close, putting her head on me, right under my chin so that I can hold her entire body in my arms, her small figure wrapped safely in my embrace. Those tears don't stop coming for a while. She cries like this into my bare body and I hold her quietly, shushing or whispering, always clutching her.

"He could have hurt you, Jug," she says.

"But he didn't. I'm right here."

"He did. You said that me breaking up with you was the only thing that could ever hurt you," she says.

"You didn't break up with me," I say. "Archie did."

"Not funny, Juggie."

"Once I knew what was going on and you explained it, I was fine." I pull her face up to mine so that she is looking into my eyes.

"Do you love me?" I ask her.

"Of course, I love you Jughead."

"I love you too," I agree. "He is not going to hurt us anymore." But then I pause and think about what she is going to get out of this. She is clearly upset. She has every right to be. Maybe she just needs to feel like she is allowed to be upset. "But he did hurt you. He scared you. It's okay to admit that."

She nods, putting her head back down on my chest. We lay like this for several hours, only taking breaks to make love under the sheets and then hold each other tightly. At the end of the night, it's almost two in the morning. Betty starts to get her clothes together. After putting on her underwear, I toss her my shirt. She smiles at it but then shakes her head, trying to give it back.

"Why?" she asks.

"You aren't going anywhere, Betty Cooper," I tell her.

"Why not?" she asks, slipping the shirt over her small body and crawling back into bed with me. she rests herself on her side as she watches me.

"You are staying right here with me," I say. "You have a lot more healing to do and I intend on making sure that you get it."

She kisses me and I kiss her back for several long, beautiful seconds. Then she rests her head right on my temple and we stare at each other this way, our arms still a safety barrier between us and the outside world.

"In that case, I guess I'll be staying," she says.

"Yes, you will."


	7. Jughead's Sick, Betty's Comfort

**Sick Jughead**

Betty leans back against the sofa in their regular hangout, waiting for Jug to arrive. Of course, he's normally really early or late. After their normal amount of conversation between the three of them, it is starting to feel like a certain brooding male is missing. Archie leans onto his elbows and looks to Betty.

"Where's Jug?" he asks.

"I don't know actually."

She picks up her phone and when he doesn't arrive within the next five minutes, she is concerned. She calls but gets nothing but white noise. Maybe his phone is dead? But that doesn't make sense. With the latest happenings around this place, she would rather him remember to keep his phone on.

"Betty?" Archie calls. Betty turns around to three of my friends. They are sitting together, all looking to her.

"I don't know where he is. His phone is dead or something," she says with clear panic in her voice. He might have just slept in. Or he might be the next black hood victim. She even considers calling the Black hood back just so that she can get answers before she feels Veronica's hand on her arm. She looks right into her eyes.

"Betty, let's not go crazy. He probably just slept in," she says. "Or maybe he had to get some Serpent stuff done."

"No! I haven't seen him either," Sweet Pea calls from leaning against the vending machine. She shakes her head and decides to take this into her own hands. She can find him herself. She grabs her bag, throws it over her shoulder and begins walking out, ignoring the comments and questions from everyone else in the room. Once she is gone, she gets on the bus to the south side and tries to keep herself calm the entire way, just hoping that he'll answer his phone every time she calls. Then she remembers. FP. She could have just called him!

He answers on the second ring.

"Yeah?" he asks in that classically old voice.

"Where's Jughead? Is he with you? He won't answer his phone!" she says very quickly and then remembers to breathe.

"He should be back at the trailer. He was asleep when I left. I'm working at pops right now, Betty. I'm sure he's alright. Maybe his phone died so he didn't get up for his alarm," he says. "Sure, it's no big deal."

"Well I'm going to go see him," she say.

"Sure, Betty."

"Thanks," she says but before she does, he is gone. At her stop, she gets off and starts running toward his trailer. It is just minutes before she stops in front of his trailer. Nothing looks out of place or wrong in anyway. She runs into the trailer and then looks around. Everything looks fine so she attempts to remain calm.

"Juggie!" she says. He is not on the couch or in the kitchen so she goes back to the bedroom. She finds Jughead laying asleep in his bed with his arm draped over his head. The blankets are strewn about his mattress. His face looks as if it's in anguish. His clothes are lying on the floor, as if he stripped them layer by layer. He is in nothing but his blue stripped boxers.

"Jughead," she says in a soft tone.

He is laying with an arm over his face and his body on his back, slightly shivering but also sweating. He's sick. His phone is sitting on the floor as if it fell from the charger, or maybe he hit it on accident.

"Oh, Juggie," she says, putting her hand to his forehead. It's warm. She kisses his forehead and waits but he doesn't wake up. His chest is rising and falling just a little too fast. Betty walks over to the kitchen and grabs a washcloth. She douses it in cool water and then brings it back to set on his forehead. After that she is determined to find something to help him. She raids their tiny trailer and finds a pain medicine that can double as a fever reducer. She sets it down on the messy nightstand and gets a glass of water. She strips the blankets from his bed and piles them together then grabs a new blanket and carefully drapes it over the lower half of his body.

Jughead starts to move, turning his head to the side. She sits at the edge of his bed and puts her hand on his chest, wiping away some sweat with another cool towel.

"Betty?" he asks.

"Yeah, Juggie. I'm here."

"Is this a dream?" he asks in a quiet, muffled voice. It's almost as if his lips and tongue won't listen to his brain. She continues washing the cold sweat from his body, down his arms and then the back of his neck where his hair sticks to him.

"No. I'm really here," she whispers quietly.

"School."

"No. I'm gonna stay with you today. You're sick. What happened?"

"Germs," he says.

"Never mind," she says with a small smile. His eyes open just a little bit, enough for her to see the pain and illness in them. She begins to put the washcloth on the side of his face when he leans his face against her hand. She leans down to kiss his forehead but he gasps and tries to pull away.

"You'll get sick," he says.

"Jughead," she says with a small laugh. "I don't care. Come on. Let me help you."

He is too weak to argue with her. She grabs the pill and water, helping him sit up. He clenches his eyes and tilts his head down for a few seconds before he shakily takes it from her steady hands.

"Thanks Betty," he says.

"Lay down, Jug. I'll be here," she says, helping him lay back down. He uses most of her to control his fall as he rests back on the mattress. He is shivering again so she pulls the blanket up to his chest and kisses his forehead again. It is a gesture that makes her feel a little better, as if maybe she is giving him some comfort.

"Come here," he says.

She leans down on her elbow and pushes his hair from his face a few times. She continues to do this to sooth him but his face clenches and unclenches, his eyes staying closed the entire time and his body shaking.

"No. Here," he begs, opening his arm. She nods, understanding and crawls into his embrace, resting her head on the pillow beside him. She plays with his hair in one of her fingers as he slowly starts to calm down.

"Don't go," he says.

"I won't."

"Sleep," he mumbles.

"I know. You can sleep. I'll be here when you wake up. I'm not going anywhere," she assures, laying her head down on the pillow almost touching Jug's. She knows that she will likely get whatever virus has caught Jughead but she doesn't seem to care. She doesn't mind it as long as she can get this beautiful moment of peace out of it.

"Go to sleep, Jug," she says. "I'll be here."

With her words giving him permission, he almost falls asleep instantly. She holds him within the space of her arms for hours, only moving to text the others and tell them that neither of them will be attending school today.

After a few hours, his fever breaks and the sweating returns a lot worse than before. He wakes up in a hot, jumbled mess. She grabs his arm before he starts thrashing and kisses his hand. He looks over at her and even through his confusion and slight pain, he smiles a real Jughead Jones smirk.

"What?" she asks.

"You stayed," he says, rolling over onto his side.

"Of course, I did. I told you I would. I love you."

"I love you too," he says and then attempts to side up. She follows him, holding onto his back when he looks dizzy. But then his eyes meet hers.

"I am really gross," he says.

"Sweaty, yeah," she agrees.

He pushes himself to the edge of the bed where she holds his hand so he can stand. She makes him drink water before he attempts to grab clean underwear, though she would never be able to tell what is what in this trailer. He obviously can as he grabs some red ones and looks back to her before he enters the bathroom.

"What?" she asks.

"Don't you want to help me shower?" he asks.

"I thought you couldn't… _you know…_ since you're sick?" she asks as her normal Betty self. He gives her a small chuckle and then holds out his hand to her.

"Oh, I can do plenty," he says. "Come on, Betty. Make me feel better."

With a smile on her face, Betty follows her boyfriend into a steamy shower.


	8. Betty Gets Bullied

**Betty Gets Bullied**

 **It's as if Juggie stayed at Riverdale High for just a little longer after the incident with the Betty doll and her locker. 1x13.**

Betty had been able to avoid most of the scandals surrounding her relationship since that vandalization of her locker with pig's blood. But of course, she knew that would not be the only problem people held with her love toward Jughead. People are cruel and quick to reckless action when they are scared.

She is sitting at lunch alone, waiting for the others to arrive. Jughead will still be in line. Archie and Veronica are probably finding a spot to do their wrong doings even within school walls. Kevin is just about to approach her when she sees one of the football players walk over to her. He leans his elbows over onto the table and gets closer to her face. Kevin sets his tray down and stares at them with discomfort.

"What do you want?" Betty asks with a peaceful smile.

"I figured you'd give me some if you were willing to slither up to that serpent," he says, leaning his elbow on her food tray now. She ignores him, taking a carrot from her tray and biting it as she stares down at the table.

"What happened, Betty?" he asks. "Not so tough without that gang banger around."

She refuses to stoop to those levels. She digs her nails into her palms as she always does, faking a smile that continues to look right down at the floor, through the table.

"I've got something for you," he says. "Since you won't give it up to me. Though, I don't know why. Do you take your hair out of that ponytail for him? Or does he like to pull it like a horse?"

She digs her nails in further. She can see the blood start to drip down her palms.

"Do you know what your boyfriend does? What his kind does? I bet you laughed when you heard that FP cleaned up that blood, dropped Jason into the river…I bet you knew all about Jughead's weird fetishes. I bet you fed into them."

Betty is forced to take a deep breath but she is afraid to let it out, knowing she will scream if she does. She sees Kevin looking terrified and confused in front of her. She searches the cafeteria. She finds Veronica and Archie walking into the doors. She tries to catch their eyes but Ronnie is adjusting her hair and Archie is leaning down to talk to her.

"I've got this for you," he says, dangling a gummy worm above her head. But it is covered in something. she feels something drip onto her head. One of his buddies beside him hands him a bucket.

"This is for Riverdale, serpent slut!" he shouts.

She can see Jughead's eyes turn to her from the cafeteria line just as the bucket empties blood covered gummy snakes all over her head and face.

She doesn't scream. She doesn't make a single sound. Betty Cooper stands up, leaving her tray of food on the table and punches that football jocks face. He holds onto his jaw looking shocked. But his friend is quick to recover for him.

"I bet you like that spunk, huh Jughead?" he asks.

Jughead drops his entire tray of perfectly good food onto the floor to charge this football player. He tackles him to the ground and the two begin wrestling. Jughead gets in a couple of punches but this other boy is much bigger than he is. He is able to wrangle him to the ground until Archie gets involved. He pulls the football player off of Jug but he doesn't look done yet. He is seething with anger as his girlfriend stands with blood and gummy worms on her head and shoulders. She starts brushing them away, shaking them off of her so there is nothing left but the remanence of fake blood.

Archie turns around to grab Jug's shoulders as he lunges for the bigger kid again. Betty can see that darkness in his eyes take him over. He can see nothing but the anger and the need to demolish the man in front of him. She understands it well.

"You two have fun cleaning that blood off!" the first jock says as he drops his hand from his face.

As if this were not enough, as if he had not already won this insane battle, he turns to Betty Cooper, still covered in his so-called gift and spits on her feet before turning looking into her eyes and spatting, "Serpent slut."

One might say that this was the nail in Jug's coffin because he snapped. He got out of Archie's embrace and charged the kid to the floor, putting his hands around his throat. He looked right into his eyes as that anger came through. The kid was pulling at his hands, trying to get him off but Jughead was determined and livid with rage.

"Do anything to Betty again and I will mangle you, meat head," he says.

The kid is tapping Jug's hand, attempting again with desperation to pull him off in a last-ditch effort to breathe. But Jug doesn't care. It is not until Betty's calming hand touches his shoulder that the rage subsides just a small amount, just enough for him to let go.

The football players leave and Jughead grabs Betty's hand.

Jughead can't describe the worry he feels for her, the pain he feels for her. So instead, he grabs her behind the head as he always does and wraps her body in his sweet embrace. She rests her head on his chest as they hug, finding some peace in this chaotic catastrophe that is Betty Cooper's life.

"Come on, Bets," he says with a nudge. "Let's clean you off."


	9. Betty Gets Bullied II

**Cleaning off the Gummy Worms**

 **Continuation of the last one "Betty gets Bullied".**

"I am so sorry, Betty," Jughead says for the fifth time. After the incident at school, the pair decided it was time to go home for the day. He brought her back to FP's trailer where she could at least change into one of Jug's S tee shirts and wash the blood out of her hair.

"Let me help you with that," he says as she struggles to take the sticky hair tie out of her ponytail. He pulls it out gently, allowing his hands to get bloody in the process. She leans her head over the kitchen sink and turns the water on. She attempts to watch everything out but when he sees her failing, Jughead, being the delightful prince to rescue his fair maiden, puts his hands in her hair to wash away the red she can't reach.

When it is done, he grabs her a towel and wraps it around her shoulders, gently ringing her hair out to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"Well at least it was original this time," he says, handing her the towel so she can dry her hair. He has rarely seen Betty Cooper with her hair down but cannot ever recall a time when he saw her with her wet hair down. She looks different, almost as if getting out of a shower, tossing his S tee shirt on and slipping into bed with him. the thought makes him smile enough for her to notice.

"What could you be smiling about right now, Jug?" she asks.

"The fact that we're here together," he says with a shrug, putting his arms around her waist as he steps toward her. Jug takes the towel from her hands and sets it down on the counter behind them.

"And?" she asks, putting her hands on either side of her face.

"And you look cute with my shirt on," he says. "It just makes me happy."

"It should. It should make you happy to be with your girlfriend," she says.

"Of course, it does," he says with concern, realizing that this not where he thought it was going to go.

"We are literally Romeo and Juliet now, aren't we?" she asks.

He nods with that sad Juggie expression that always makes her want to hug him. But instead she stays right where she is, kissing him on the lips one time before staring at him and waiting for his next response.

"What is it?" she asks.

"This was the nail in the coffin, Bets."

"What?"

She is clearly scared and he can see it all over her face. He grabs her hand and pulls her to the couch, having her sit down right next to him so that he can put his arm around her body and pull her side close to his. She snuggles into his body easily, as if falling into the perfect mattress. He holds her quite differently: with great effort and a knowledge of danger ahead in these troubled waters.

"I have to go to South Side High, Betty," he says.

"What? No!" she shouts, trying to move from his grasp. But he doesn't want her to. He just needs her to stay in his arms for a little while longer. He is almost begging it in his head as he kisses her forehead. She lays on his chest so he can't see her face. But that also means that she can't see the fear in his eyes.

"I have to. I don't want to. But I tried to come back. It didn't matter. They tormented you even more. They're getting way too creative with these cruel jokes, Betty. I can't have that happen," he says.

"I'll be alright. You were there today to protect me. I hit one, you beat up the other. We're a good team, Jug."

He almost chuckles but it is so cruel, even to his own heart that he stifles it. He pushes down the pain that he knows will come up later.

"I have to do this," he says. "I was there today and it didn't matter. They still hurt you. They still did this in front of everyone to destroy your character. That wasn't okay and no matter if I am there or not, they are—"

"Going to do it anyway," she says for him but that is not where he was going with this. He understands her frustration. Her practically begging him to stay is just the fuel in the fire of fear around his heart.

"No," Jughead says. "They are going to pick on you as long as you stand up for me, as long as you stand out against the North Side. If you just lay low in the tall grass like some snakes have to do, you'll be alright. You can't do that with me here. If there were any teachers around, we would have been suspended for fighting back."

"And they would have been for what they did."

"But I'm a South Side kid with a bad attitude and no friends. Betty, they would destroy me in that office. I don't want to take you down with me. My ship is sinking and there are not enough life boats," he says, sadly. She puts her hand over his heart and realizes it is going to beat out of his chest. When he realizes he is busted, his face goes sad and her eyes comes to meet his. He doesn't hide or deny anything. He has no reason to now.

"You don't want to go," she says.

He shakes his head, letting his lower lip tremble.

"Then why are you?"

"Because I can't watch you get hurt anymore. And I will not be a part of that. Today, what I did, attacking them like that probably just made it a whole lot worse for you," he says.

"You don't know that."

"And you don't know that they aren't going to come after you tomorrow with something worse or the next day or the next," he insists, holding his arms around her waist and looking right at her, begging her with his fearful pleading eyes.

"I'm gonna be okay, Juggie. If I need to stand up for you and for me and for the south side, I will. We are not going to let them split us apart. We can have our happy ending together," she insists with that smile that makes him trust her more than anyone.

"I need you to understand that I love you and I am terrified of you getting hurt because of me. You have to let me go to this school so that you can be safe and so that I can fit in."

With his hands around both sides of her face now, she nods with tears in her eyes. She is not just afraid that this school will change him. the location will change him. Everything will change. That comes out in tears as they fall down her face. He shakes his head, biting his lower lip as he pulls her close to his chest, encompassing her entire body with his safety.

"I am not going to let anything else happen to you, Betty Cooper," he says with a trembling lip that he is glad he can hide from her.

It is not just a promise to her but a vow to himself. Now he just has to prove that he can live up to it.


	10. Bughead Scars

**Bughead Scars**

 **They lay in bed in Season 2, talking and kissing.**

I open her perfect palms to my face and kiss her crescent moons. She smiles at me when I do this, looking into those beautiful eyes. I keep her close, cupping her hands under my chin. She rests them there gently as she always does.

"I love you, Betty," I say.

She smiles. "I love you too."

She looks down my shirtless body until I am pretty sure that she is looking at my underwear. I raise my eyebrows and tilt her chin up with my hand. But then she giggles and looks innocently into my eyes.

"What?" I ask her.

"You have a scar there," she says.

"I have a lot of scars, Bets. Which one?" I ask, looking down at my stomach. She grazes her fingers over the mark that is right beside my bellybutton. She keeps her hand there, making me squirm under her touch. I grab her hand and interlock her fingers in mine. I can almost hear the yelling, the fighting, the terror in my head as I push myself stupidly in the middle of their parental feud.

"It's okay," she says, furrowing her brow and keeping that small, no teeth grin on her face. It makes me want to tell her but the screaming in my head changes that thought quickly. "You don't have to tell me."

"I want to."

"But?" she asks.

"But it's not pleasant, Betty."

"Are you trying to shield me from your darkness again?" she asks with a small laugh. I shake my head and turn my body toward her, pulling her hand across my chest so that at least I can feel her close when my memories get tough to explain.

"You can tell me, Juggie," she says. That prompt and nudge in the direction toward my painful past.

I nod, attempting the effort that she is trying to instill in me. I begin the story slowly and calmly, never letting go of her hand, keeping her entire body close to my own. I try to keep her eyes on mine, as I don't want her looking at my scar when I tell her this.

"My parents were fighting. I was thirteen. Jellybean was seven. She was asleep in the back room with me when we heard them screaming. They were really loud. My dad sounded drunk and my mom sounded upset. Jellybean started crying so I told her I would fix it," I tell her. Then the memory starts getting painful and uncomfortable. I bite my lower lip and she notices my discomfort. She puts her hand on the side of my face, resting it there and pulling my lip from my teeth. She looks at me with that hopeful, gentle smile that makes me want to tell her everything I know.

"It's okay, Juggie," she whispers in a voice so small and fair that I almost kiss her because of it. But I have a story to finish. And I never leave a story unfinished.

"I got out of bed and went out to see them. They were standing in the living room. They were yelling at each other. My dad had his jacket on and a beer in his hand. My mom crying but also screaming back at him. Dad said that it wasn't his fault that he lost the money. She said of course it was his fault. He said that he was just trying to get it back so that we could have more of what we wanted. She said that he just made things worse for everyone." I take a deep breath and then let it out slowly, biting the side of my lip before continuing. She plays with my hair, which I always love. It allows me to be comfortable enough to keep going, though I hate remembering this.

"I came out into the middle of the room and stood there. My mom realized I was there. She put her arm around me and told me to go back to bed, that she was sorry for waking me. she glared at my father so then he started yelling. He said that it didn't matter that I was awake, that maybe I should be a part of this."

I can almost see my father's face in the back of my head when the next part occurs.

"He tried to grab my arm and my mom swatted the bottle out of his hand. It shattered on the wall and the floor. He picked it back up, the top attached to sharp edges. He started saying that they shouldn't have had children, that this was all a bad choice. He said that everything is going to hell because they didn't have the money for all of us," I tell her.

She can tell that things are getting hard to talk about again. she squeezes my hand and then pulls it to her chest, holding it there so I can feel the steady rhythm of her heart beat. It keeps me calm.

"My mom said that he was just drunk and that he loved us and that he didn't mean it. She was still trying to push me back to the room but I wouldn't go. I should have but I knew that he was going to make her upset again. So I just stayed. He grabbed me from my mom's hand with the bottle still in his grasp. They were wrestling with me. He grabbed me around my waist and then the bottle cut me pretty deep. It didn't help that I was trying to kick out of his hands. When I finally got loose, my mom had her arm on my shoulder but the damage had been done. I was hurt. It was bleeding."

I look into her eyes but she is looking down at my scar. I tilt her chin to my face and we look at each other. She looks almost scared, her eyebrows in, her nostrils out and her lips into a frown.

"Did it need stitches?" she asks.

"Probably but we couldn't afford the hospital so my mom just kept bandaging it and telling me to drink water. Eventually, the bleeding stopped and I was fine but I had this really great scar. It never went away: a constant reminder of the terrors that was my parent's nightly arguments."

"I am so sorry," she says.

I shake my head, feeling concern hit my chest. I pull her body close to mine. She wraps her leg around my hips.

"You don't have to be. I'm okay, Bets," I assure.

"You have to know that you didn't deserve any of that, Juggie," she says.

"Thanks, Betty. It just sucks because every time I see it, I'm reminded."

She gets that classic dark Betty look on her face before she bites her lip and swings her leg over me completely. She kisses my neck for a few seconds, which I allow with some confusion.

"I could make you think of something else every time you see it," she says.

"Challenge accepted, Betty Cooper."

She kisses lower and lower until I forget everything but her.


	11. Bughead at the Swimming Hole 03x01

**Jughead and Betty at the Swimming Hole**

 **A longer version of the conversation they had on 03x01.**

"I wanted to tell you something else, Bets," I tell her.

"Really? Cause I thought we were about to have sex," she says with a smile. I put my hand on her thigh and kiss her neck.

"You're giving me mixed messages here, my king," she says. That turns me on more than I thought it would. I push closer to her but then remember that we were having a very serious conversation and I wanted to finish it before we started this.

"What?" she asks again.

I stop kissing her and sit by her instead. Our lips almost touch but then she stops to look at me. She knows I want to keep talking.

"I don't want you to hurt anymore," I say.

She looks concerned and serious. "I'm okay, Jug," she assures with her hand on my arm. I keep it there.

"I know that you've been okay. But you've also been avoiding a lot of stuff that you shouldn't be. I've been letting you. But I think it's time that you talk about it. You don't have to talk about it with anyone but me. But you do have to talk about it," I tell her. she nods. She looks scared so I pull her in for a hug.

"Tell me one honest thing right now," I say.

"Alright," she agrees. "I love you."

I smirk but shake my head. "Come on. One more thing. One thing that doesn't have to do with me. Something hones that you don't want to talk about."

She looks scared so I hold her hand.

"I don't want to think about the fact that my father is a murder," she says.

"He's a murder. You'll have to deal with that when Tuesday comes and students are mean. But I am going to be with you every step of the way. And you are never going to be alone again. You are going to be right by my side."

"There's something else," she says with sadness. Those tears in her eyes hurt my heart. I squeeze her hand and pull her a little closer. She looks to me with fear all over her face. That unspeakable emotion that is so undisputedly raw.

"I think that if I don't stay on the right track, I am going to be just like him," she admits. "I have it in me to hate someone that much."

"So do I," I agree.

Her eyes are worried but I don't let her fear long.

"I have that much hate sometimes. That's why I cut Penny. But I think if we were together, I would never have even gotten close to that."

"Jug, I said—"

"I am not telling you that to make you feel bad, Betty. There were extenuating circumstances. I am just trying to prove that things would be different if we were together. If I was with you when everything went down with that Chic guy, you would have never let him go to the Black Hood," I tell her. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you."

"Jug," she says, tilting her head toward mine. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I never wanted you to get that far."

"I know," I tell her with a smile. "We are never going to leave each other again. We are going to be fine as long as we stay together."

"What if I can't control it?" she asks with panic. The same panic that I have seen in her before. It is unwanted and honest but also very sad. I put my hands on either side of her face to make her crying eyes look directly at me.

"Elizabeth Cooper. You are not your father."

She nods, pressing her lips together as she attempts not to cry. I don't know why she does that. There is no point. I hold onto her carefully and then decide that I have a better idea. I take my hat from next to me and put it on her head awkwardly. She smiles as I adjust and fix it so it stays.

"From now on, we are partners in the Serpents…and in life," I tell her. "Okay?"

"Okay," she whispers and leans forward. She kisses me and I let her. We lean into each other, kissing as she starts to take her clothes off. I don't argue.

I push her clothes off of her body. She takes my shirt off. I lose my hands in her hair. She grabs my shoulders as she sits on me. She keeps my hat on until the final moments when I pull her underwear from her body.

Betty starts kissing down my neck and chest until she reaches my underwear. I watch her sexy eyes as she pulls my boxers off. I watch as she kisses back up, slowly, making me want her even more.

"Betty," I say, grabbing her to pull her close to me again.

She leans over me, putting her elbows on either side of my head. I grab her hips above me and kiss her as we make love under the stars, next to the roaring fire. The heat beside us is not what makes us sweat in each other's arms. I don't just see stars because it's night time either. I see them when she bites my neck and makes me claw at her.

She collapses on my body, smiling with her head on my chest. My arms fall around her back as her legs splay out on me.

"I really hope that Archie and Veronica went far away," I tell her.

"Why is that?" she asks.

"Because all three times I made you feel that heightened sense of pleasure, you made sure everyone within a mile, knew it," I say with a chuckle. I get a light, playful slap for that but I don't mind it. I get a laugh out of it too.

"I love you, Jughead," she says. "So much."

"I love you too," I tell her. "Something wrong?"

"No. I'm okay. I'm gonna be okay if you help me," she says, pushing herself from laying on me. She holds herself up and looks into my eyes.

I look at her with a question on my face, just waiting for the next move.

"With what?" I ask.

"I have two requests," she says. I keep my arm around her back, holding her naked body still pressed against mine. We are both naked physically and emotionally as she puts it together in her head what she needs to say to me.

"One, I am the Serpent Queen. I am a member of the Serpents, Jughead. That needs to mean that I have control over things too. Missions, decisions, our people. You said I am your partner. We are going to work together in the Serpents."

"I just don't want you getting hurt," I admit.

She puts her hand on my face so that she can see the pure vulnerability in my eyes. I want to hide it but I don't know if I have the capacity to feel it right now.

"I know," she says with a smile. "But if we are going to do this, we are going to do it together. I am not going to be a side line queen. You take them seriously. You take being their leader very seriously. So do I. They answer to you. But when you're not around—"

"They answer to none other than Betty Cooper," I agree with a smile. I knew that her being my queen would have some downfalls. But the sex appeal of her in that jacket might be worth any of them.

"What's the second thing?" I ask her.

"I think I need to stop taking Adderall," she says.

"Okay," I agree with a nod of my head.

"I might need your help. I'll be tired and jittery. I might be a little irritable at first. I might need you to coax me out of some of that," she says.

I hold onto her face carefully. I lean close to her lips and kiss her once.

"I promise to help you every moment for the rest of our lives," I say as I kiss her neck. "I promise to argue with you, and debate with you. I promise to protect you and stand by your side. I promise to help you, to hold you and to support you."

I kiss her neck again, pushing her underneath of my body. I roll on top of her and kiss her neck as she opens herself to me. I hold her hand by her head as kiss and smile at each other through the truth.

"Most of all, I promise to make hot, sexy love to you, Betty," I say.

"Then what are you waiting for, Juggie?"


	12. Jughhead after his dad's confession

**Kicking and Screaming**

 **Betty and Jughead go back to the trailer after his dad's arrest.**

"Can we be alone for a while, Betty?" he asks, staring into my eyes with an expression I have never seen before on him.

I nod, taking his hand. Archie and Betty don't even ask any questions. They know that he doesn't want to see them right now. He is scared and sad. He was alone for too long. He needs me for right now. Just me. So I lead him out of the booth and then out of Pops. We get outside. He grabs my hand and turns to me. He is standing right in front of me looking more vulnerable than ever.

"I love you," he says.

I can feel my heart being put back together slowly and painfully. I squeeze his hand and bite my lower lip.

"I love you too," I say. "You have to know that I did not know they were searching your trailer."

He nods.

"Did you know that your mom had ulterior motives for wanting my father and I to come to dinner?" he asks with sadness. I can feel it cracking again in my chest. I clench my fist at my side, letting him hold my other hand. He doesn't see it at first. He is still looking at my face for the truth.

"Yes," I manage to say through my tears. I can see the tears forming in his eyes too. He doesn't want to let them fall in front of me. He lets go of my hand and turns his head.

"I am so sorry, Juggie," I say. "That is all that I knew but I thought that it would still be okay, that it could still mean something different to us. It didn't matter what my mom wanted. I had no idea what Archie and Veronica were doing."

He wipes his hand down his face. I see him clench his eyes and frown with his lips together in a grimace.

"Don't ever lie to me again, Betty," he says, turning back to me so that I can see his heartbroken face. There are tears on his cheeks and his lower lip is quivering. He reaches his hand out to me. His fingers are trembling. His desperation is true and clear. I put my fingers in his, keeping my other hand clenched at my side. It is starting to hurt. But I deserve it.

"I won't, Jug. I promise I will not lie to you. I was trying to protect you. I am so sorry," I say again with more tears. I don't even know what else to tell him. His hand squeezes mine and then he looks down at my other hand.

"No. Don't," he says when he opens it and sees the blood.

Panic fills his eyes. He grabs my hand and opens my palm. More tears fall. I feel shock. He's crying because I'm hurt? He shouldn't be upset about that.

"Bets," he mumbles.

I give him my hand, letting him hold it in his. My blood smears on his palm and he squeezes it to stop the bleeding. His face breaks with my heart. He looks right at me, realizing that whatever façade that he played for so long cannot hold its walls up anymore. They are like the great wall in Russia. Eventually, the truth must come out and the walls must come down. And they have.

"Betty," he says. "I am so scared."

"I know," I say, holding out my arms.

"Bets," he mumbles in a cracked voice.

Jughead makes a noise so broken and cracked that it scares me. He cries a real cry. He is sobbing. His knees don't seem to be able to hold him up any longer. His legs become weak. He falls to the ground. I put my arms underneath of him to catch his weight and carrying him carefully as his sobbing form falls to the freezing pavement of the outdoors. I hold him the best that I can, putting my arms underneath of his body.

I let him fall over completely. His head falls too so I grab him around his shoulder, letting him rest his head on the inside of my elbow. I put my other arm around his body, attempting to make him safe. But nothing seems to work. His cries are loud and broken and terrifying. He doesn't try to hide any of it. His body shakes. His eyes leak. His feet kick to stabilize himself but they fail.

"Jughead," I mumble through my own tears that practically fall onto his face as I sob with him. But his sobs are harsh and loud. They are the cries of a boy who thought he had everything and lost almost all of it in one night. Almost.

He still has me.

I lean down to his face, resting my lips close to his ear. His sobs are broken with loud gaps and scary groans. But I will bring him back.

"I love you, Juggie," I tell him.

He nods in my arms but he doesn't say anything. he can't say anything through his pain. It is so blatantly terrible. His father's sin has destroyed his very own flesh and blood. His wife and daughter were able to escape it before it reached them. But Jug was caught up in the middle of it all.

"I know you're scared," I tell him in a whisper so that my lips brush against his ear. He doesn't make any acknowledgment as if he has heard me. I can only hope that he has and that he is listening to my soothing words.

"I know you feel lonely," I say.

His sobs become quieter. I can tell that he is listening to me now. He is still crying, being held by my weak arms on this freezing cold wet ground outside of the bright lights. They are the only thing keeping the last bit of the darkness away from my Jug. His fear doesn't show it though. It is still present, terrifying.

"You are not alone," I promise him.

His breath hitches.

"You are never going to be alone again," I promise.

He sniffles but does not make another sound.

"You are not alone. I am with you, Jughead. I am not going anywhere. I am going to be here no matter what happens for as long as you keep me around," I promise.

He lifts his head, pushing himself up to stand. He looks right at me, tears all over his face. He brushes his hand over his nose but never moves his body from my arms. It is clear that he wants my embrace. I will never deny him that.

"I love you," he says.

I smile, allowing tears to fall. I didn't think that I could cry any more than I already had. But maybe Jug is the one that should be thinking that.

"I love you too," I say. "I am not going anywhere. You are not alone anymore, Juggie. You never will be."

I put my hand on the side of his face. He leans into it, keeping my other arm wrapped around his body.

"Betty," he says.

I look at him, leaning my head forward.

"No matter what happens, I need you," he says in that same frown.

"You'll have me," I promise.

Then I realize that we are still sitting out here in the freezing cold, watching our breath come out of our mouths. I grab his hand and pull him to stand. He uses part of my weight as we stand in the cold.

"We have to go to the station," I tell him.

He nods and wipes his face off. I give him a second to do so and then take his hand. He pulls me in for a hug. It lasts just a second but it is enough for me to remember how to breathe. We are going to figure this out together.

Jug looks down at our bound hands and then back into my tearful eyes.

"Don't let go."

"I won't," I promise. "Never again."


	13. Jughead Talks to Betty about FP

**Jughead Talks to Betty About His Dad**

 **This takes place after Juggie's dad was given the option of giving names and getting 20 years or going to trail and getting 40.**

Betty opens her window for me and I come in, shaking and trying to hide the fact that I was just crying. But she puts her hands on mine. I take her hands and squeeze them, feeling panicked.

"Jug," she says with sadness.

"Betty. I don't know what to do," I tell her.

"Talk to me."

I nod, holding her hands and pulling her over to the bed. She sits with me. But she can tell that I am shaking. I don't even bother hiding it. She puts her hands on my face and brushes my cheeks with her thumbs. I know what she is doing but I pretend that I don't.

"I'm scared," I tell her.

"What about?" she asks carefully and quietly.

I take a deep breath. My voice is shaking. My heart feels like it is going to pound out of my chest. I just want to lose myself in her embrace, feel like I am going to forget everyone and everything in the comfort of her arms.

"My dad is facing 20 years if he takes the deal," I tell her. She listens carefully as I attempt to explain. "I don't know what to do. If he takes the deal, I am alone. Twenty years. That's a long ass time, Bets. I'd be 36 by the time he gets out."

"I know," she says with her hand on my leg. She is getting closer as my panic reaches its' heights.

"But he has to give names," I tell her. "He won't do it. I know he won't. I don't want him to take the deal but…I can't have him gone for longer than that."

"Longer?" she asks.

"Forty years if he goes to trial without the deal."

She puts her arm around my waist and pulls me close. Her forehead is almost touching mine. Her hand is on my thigh. I can smell her breath. She already brushed her teeth. She smells of mint and Betty. It makes me feel a little bit more okay. She has on a pink teddy bear shirt that is falling off of one of her shoulders. Her pink and brown shorts are really short. Any other time I might be pushing her onto the bed and puling those off of her but I can't right now. I wish I could just be with her.

I wish I could forget everything but her.

"Forty years, Jug," she says. "I am so sorry."

"I am going to be alone. You said that it's okay if I stay in the trailer, wear the jacket, ride the motorcycle," I say. She nods. "But right now, all of that is terrifying me. I am going to be the only one in there. The place where Jellybean and my parents stayed for a long time. I am going to be alone."

That panic hits me in the chest like a hard rock. I feel tears fall on my cheeks as my breathing becomes labored. I look down at my shaking hands. I can't breathe. I can't catch my breath. I will be alone there. I won't see my dad again until I am a middle-aged married man with two and a half kids. I will be alone.

"Betty," I say. "I don't want to be alone."

She pulls me into her arms so I fall on her until we are wrapped together on her bed. I put my head on her shoulder and let her keep her arms around me.

"You are not alone," she says. "I promise that you will never be alone again. You have me now, Juggie."

"I'm scared," I say again.

I don't think that there is anything else that I can say. She holds me tighter and I squeeze my arms around her small body.

"You don't have to be scared. I'll stay with you wherever you want. I am not going to let you be alone and scared, Jug," she promises. I believe her but that doesn't stop the fear in my heart.

"Stay here," she says.

I sit up a little bit so that I can see her face. She looks right at me and smiles a small expression. I keep her close, worried that if she gets too far, I'll be terrified all over again. I can't deal with that again right now.

"What about your parents?" I ask.

"They're asleep," she says. "No one will come in here tonight as long as you get downstairs tomorrow early or come up with a good excuse."

I nod. Right now, I don't care what excuse there is. I just want to be with her. I need to be here with her.

"Lay with me," she says.

I kick off my shoes and pull my jacket off. Betty puts her hand under my shirt and pulls it off. I take it off and toss it aside but then I catch her eyes. I look right at her and shake my head. I feel awkward denying her but I just can't right now.

"Betty. I can't. I just want to lay with you honestly," I say.

"I know," she says with those bright eyes. "I wanted you to be comfortable, Jug."

"Oh."

I take my jeans off and lay under the blankets with her. I can feel her kissing my forehead and then she leans down so that I can see her beautiful eyes. They give me a little bit of peace as we lay with each other.

"No matter what happens with your dad, I am going to be right here," she assures.

"I trust you."

"I can feel you shaking," she says.

I can't say anything. I know I am.

"What do you need, Jug?"

"You," I say.

She rests her forehead against mine. She throws her arm around my shoulders and puts her hand on my back. I let her hold me close to her. She holds our hands between us. I kiss her fingers gently.

"I love you," she says. "I am not going to leave you. You'll be safe here. Just stay here with me and I'll protect you from all of it for as long as I can."

I rest my head on her pillow, right against her forehead. Her arms protect my body from my own fear.

"I love you too," I tell her. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, Juggie. I want to protect you. I will."

This night, at least, I am able to fall asleep with her wrapped in my arms.


	14. Betty and Jug in the Fake Break-Up

**Betty tells Jug About the Fake Break-Up**

"What, Betty?" he asks, clearly hurt. But I don't blame him. He looks like he's been upset for a while. Maybe even crying. Bust most likely those dark circles are from anger, not sadness. He doesn't know how much I cried when I had to do it.

"Can I talk to you?" I ask.

He shrugs and steps closer to me in his own doorway so that I am not at all welcome in. Why would I be? I can understand it though. What I did to him must have crushed him.

"I don't know, Bets," he says, killing my heart when he uses that nickname. "Can you? I mean, can you talk to the man you once loved? Or do you need to send Archie to tell me how you feel?"

I feel tears fill my eyes but I don't want to cry right now. I am trying to fix this.

"I am just trying to tell you the truth," I say.

"Spill it."

"Can I come in?"

"I don't know. Are you planning on breaking my heart again?"

The tears fall. I can see his demeanor crack a little. He presses his lips together. He crosses his arms over his chest. But I can see that little quiver. He wants me to tell him the truth. What I did hurt him. But he doesn't like to see me cry. He is scared of it.

"No. Of course not. I didn't plan on doing it the first time," I tell him.

"Alright."

He turns to the side and lets me in. I walk into his living room. He waits at the edge of his kitchen. He doesn't move his arms that are sitting over his chest. He looks angry but also scared. I am the only one that can see that.

"Jughead, the black hood called me," I say.

"What?" he asks, leaning forward. I can see him stepping toward me. I can already see him wanting to get closer. He wants to comfort me. There is a small, terrifying hope that he still loves me.

"The black hood has been calling me and making demands. He told me I couldn't tell anyone. I told Archie because I thought it wouldn't look bad. At first, they weren't that bad. They were scary. He had me publish an article about my mom. I got to ask him a question for it. Then he told me that I had to start getting rid of people."

I pause. I can already see his outer shell cracking. He is looking at me, wishing that I would get to the point. But he has to know the entire thing.

"This was all going on while you were running around with Toni. I thought you were more interested in them than me. I was so scared, Jug. I thought that if I told you, he would kill you. I still think that a little bit. But I'm trying not to," I say.

He steps forward. His voice is lower than it was earlier. It is his own voice now. The personal way that he speaks to me starts to shine through.

"What happened? What did he ask you to do?" he asks, stepping forward.

"He told me to get rid of Veronica first. So, I yelled at her and accused her of being a liar at the party," she says. "I had to. I knew it would ruin things but I didn't know what to do. I thought he was going to kill her if I didn't do it."

He is just a foot away from me. he looks like he might even reach out to touch me. there are tears on my face now. He looks like he might even be upset about this entire thing. He might even cry. He doesn't like to see me upset. And when I am, he always makes me feel better. But he can't right now.

That scares him.

"What Betty?" he asks.

I can't. My chest heaves with sobs. I sit down on the couch because I can't remember how to breathe. I feel him sit next to me. I even feel his arm on my shoulder. He can't stay away. I don't want him to. I want him to stay close to me.

I look up at him, holding my lips together. He looks upset. His eyes are sad. His body is desperate. He leans close to my face. I let him.

"Betty," he says. "Please just tell me."

"He called me again when I was at the bus stop. I asked him what would make him stop. He said that as long as I listen to him, he will stop."

I am crying again, full sobs. I lean over and hold my arms under my chest. At this point, Juggie has given up on being alone with me. He puts his arm around my shoulders and leans close to me like we used to. He holds me like he can protect me from everything and everyone out there. Maybe even the black hood. I let him comfort me.

I need him to.

"Betty," he says with his arm around my shoulder. "I am so sorry. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I still…I mean…just tell me, Bets."

The crying won't stop. I try to. I swallow my sorrows and manage to look up a little bit but my face is a mess.

"Please," he begs.

"He told me to get rid of you next," I tell him.

His face breaks. His frown trembles. His expression looks bleak. I hold his hand in my lap. He looks like he might cry so I lean close to him so that our sides are touching.

"Jug," I say. "Say something."

"That's why you sent Archie?"

"No. I sent Archie because I'm a coward and I couldn't do it myself. I wanted to explain everything to you so badly. I was scared to see your face. I knew I would give in if I saw it. I shouldn't have sent him. But I thought I had to break up with you, in any way, to save your life," I explain.

There is so much pain in my voice that he leans close and puts his arms around me. I lean on him, resting my head on his shoulder. I feel him shudder. It scares me. He pushes me away for a second so that he can see my face. He holds my face in his gentle hands. His eyes are filled with fear and pleading.

"Please tell me, Betty," he begs.

I know exactly what he is asking me to do. I keep my hands on his legs, my body close to his figure.

"I love you, Juggie. I never stopped loving you. I never wanted to leave you or break up with you. I have always wanted to be with you," I say with a smile through my tears. I can see him nod but he is still shaking.

"Say it again?" he asks in a broken voice.

"I never stopped loving you," I promise.

He nods.

I broke him. I hurt him so bad. He has had so many people walk out on him. He thought that I was going to stick around and I was just as bad as the rest of them. I have to prove that I am not that now.

"Juggie," I say. "I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to leave you. I promise that I am going to make it up to you. I am not going to be like everyone else. I am not walking out on you, Jughead Jones."

He nods but he is still scared. I will have to earn that position again.

"Don't ever do anything like that to me again, Betty," he says.

"I won't."

"I don't care what it is. I don't care how bad it gets. You have to tell me. You can never keep anything like that from me," he says.

"I won't," I promise again.

"Betty, I was terrified. I'm still scared. You did the one thing that could hurt me. I was serious about that. You breaking up with me, crushed me."

I decide that it is my job to fix this. My job to fix him for what I did.

I wrap my arms around his body and put my hand in his hair. I let his head fall onto my shoulder. His lips brush my neck. I keep him there for a long time. I rest my head on his shoulder too so that we are intertwined in each other.

"I love you," I say against his skin.

"I love you too," he says.

"I am not going to leave or hurt you ever again," I promise.

I pull away just a little bit but keep my hands on his face. He looks sad but no longer scared or worried about me leaving.

"Don't go home," he says.

I nod.

"I won't."

I put my hand in his.

"Juggie, you're still shaking," I say with shock.

"Kiss me," he begs.

I lean forward and put my lips to his. It is what I've wanted. I kiss him passionately and with my entire mouth. He kisses me back, holding me around my waist. When I finally pull away moments later, I keep my forehead against his.

"Better now," he says with a smile.

"I'll be right here, Juggie. I'll always be right here. I love you."


	15. Jughead gets Bullied

**Jughead Injured**

 **Jughead's bullied and injured by the football team like mentioned. But this time he is with Betty. She helps him afterwards but he is ashamed. This is before he joined the serpents.**

"Hey! How much does welfare pay your parents a week?" Reggie asks as he puts his arm on my shoulder. I continue walking but the pressure of his annoyingly manly arm is weighing me down. Two of his friends show up. One light haired guy that is at least a foot taller than me puts his rock of an arm on my other shoulder.

"Do you have to watch kinky hat porn to get off?" the blonde one asks.

At least that one was somewhat original. I hear someone clear their throat. Chuck Clayton makes his way in front of me, walking backwards and taunting my every move. I can't get around them. I can't move away from them. So, I will have to deal with the torture for the time being.

"Nah. Nah. Betty just puts on that god-awful wig and he pre-maturely—"

"Don't talk about, Betty," I say through my teeth, looking down at the floor because I know what will happen next.

"Aw. You don't like it when we talk about Ponytail?" Reggie asks.

"She's more like a low-class porn star if you ask me," Chuck says.

"Luckily, no one asks you anything, Chuck!" I shout at him.

I keep walking, turning the corner when Reggie grabs my backpack and slams me into the side of the locker. I feel pain in my shoulder. I'll have a bruise there later. But then Chuck comes around to my other shoulder.

"Okay, guys," I say. "I get it. You hate me. I'm a welfare baby. I'm a weirdo. Just leave me alone."

Reggie laughs in my face. I don't get how someone like Archie Andrews could be friends with these guys. Chuck is looking at me with the same anger and hate that he probably has for Betty because of what she did. It was a long time ago. But somehow it still bothers him.

"You know nothing about that girl of yours, _Jughead_ ," Chuck says.

"I warned you once, Chuck," I tell him.

"Oh! So scary!" he shouts.

He puts his hand on my shoulder and grips tightly under my bone. I feel the pain right away but I try not to show anything.

"You're angry because that's the most action you've gotten from a hot girl," I spit in his face. He digs his hand in deeper. He looks close to me and then to Reggie. He doesn't say anything but I know what's going to happen next. Chuck punches me in the chest. I attempt to breathe but I can't remember how.

I can hear them calling me demeaning names. I don't listen. I am still trying to catch my breath. But when I do, I straighten out and stare at all three of them, surrounded by at least six other guys. They are just standing there, looking as if they are guarding the atrocity that is this cornering.

"Maybe we're cornering the wrong weirdo?" Chuck asks. "Maybe I should be cornering Betty. Though from the looks of it, I think she would probably like cornering me more."

I decide that I am not going to handle this anymore. I grab him by his collar and punch him in the face. But Reggie holds me back, pushing me into the locker so my head hits it and then hits me in the face. I hold onto my jaw and attempt to get away when I feel them grab my jacket and pull me back. They are shouting again. But I can't hear them over the sound of their punches. I am pretty sure my chest, stomach and face can't take anymore when I grab Reggie's finger and pull it backwards. He gasps and gets off of me. It is enough for me to sit up and kick Chuck in the shins. I push myself to standing but I am leaning over, holding onto my stomach as I run.

"Bitch!" I hear after me.

But I keep running. I don't want to run but I make it up the stairs and into the blue and gold. I close the door behind me and lean against the wall, holding onto my stomach.

"Juggie?" someone asks.

Of course, it's Betty. She is sitting in her chair with her hands on her laptop. When she sees the condition I am in, she runs over to me. She puts her hands on either side of me to help me stand up. But the truth is, I don't want to stand up.

"What the hell happened?" she asks.

"Nothing. I'm alright," I say.

"Liar," she says as she puts her arm underneath of my shoulders. I let her help me over to a chair. She leaves and starts searching through drawers as she rattles me with the same question three different ways. Finally, I decide that I shouldn't be lying to her. She's my girlfriend.

"Football players. They used to do this all the time," I say. "But they were beating up on me because I fought back, verbally…mostly."

She rolls her eyes and then takes out a very small first aid kit. She walks back over to me and kneels in front of me. She takes my hand in hers and looks down at it. She brushes her fingers over my knuckles. They're bright red. Then she gets out something from the first aid kit. I don't pay much attention. I am too busy looking at her.

"You should have run," she says.

"Tried that, Betty," I tell her. "And it failed. I ran away eventually. In the meantime, they did this."

Whatever she is putting above my eyebrow hurts. I pull away but she stands up, leaning down so that she can continue doing whatever it is she is trying to fix. After a few seconds of staring into those pretty eyes of hers, I pull her closer and let her sit on my leg. She smiles and lets me kiss her. But only once.

"What?" I ask.

"Where else did they hit you?" she asks.

"Nowhere," I lie.

She puts her hand on my chest and then presses. I flinch and grunt. She takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. I let her give me that small comfort. The football players don't scare me. they don't even worry me. But pain hurts no matter who you are. And these marks on my chest and stomach hurt.

"They punched me a lot," I admit. "My chest and my stomach. But there's nothing you can do about that. I'm not bleeding."

She nods. I can tell she is about to stand up but I grab her around her waist. She smiles at me but there is some concern behind those eyes. I keep my arm on her, not wanting her to go away.

"They shouldn't hurt you, Juggie," she says, looking sad and brushing her hand over the side of my face.

"I know."

She can tell that I am not saying something. She leans close to me but I don't give it away.

"What?" she asks. "Come on."

"Alright," I say with a nod. "Their words were targeting you today. I don't know why. But it made me angry. I fought back. I shouldn't have. But I couldn't let them put you down like that. I just couldn't."

She nods and kisses me once. There is a beautiful, kind smile on her face. Betty wraps her arm around my shoulder. We both look down at our hands. She interlocks her fingers in mine and I smile back at her.

"What?" I ask.

"How about we get out of here? We only have one more class anyway," she says with a small shrug.

"What? Betty Cooper suggesting that we skip a class? Is the world spinning the right way?" I ask with a smile.

She stands up and holds out her hand. I take it.

"I say we go get a milkshake, Juggie," she offers.

"You better have your riding pants on, Bets. Cause we're taking the motorcycle."


	16. Betty Nightmare in FP's Trailer

**Betty's Nightmare in FP's Trailer**

 **This happens while she is staying in the trailer. Jughead hears her have a nightmare and goes to her but he doesn't want to be disrespectful to his dad. Short but cute!**

I can hear a loud scream. I sit straight up and put my feet on the floor. I hear loud breathing, scared breathing. My dad runs his hand over his face beside me. He looks worried, grabbing a baseball bat from the side of the pullout couch.

"Jug!" I hear her shout.

"Betty," I say. Dad looks tired. He is also tired. He just nods his head toward the bedroom. I look at him with a question but he nods. He wants me to help.

I run back to the room and stop at the doorway. She is sitting straight up with her hand over her chest. Betty looks scared. Her hair is sticking to her forehead and her body is rigid. She has tears on her face. She is clearly shaking. I go over to her and sit down on the bed. I put my hand on her face.

"It's okay," I tell her. "What happened?"

I put my arm around her body. She leans her head down on my shoulder. I can hear her shuddered breathing. Then she puts her hand in mine. I rub circles on her back as she calms herself back down.

"Tell me, Betty," I beg.

"Nightmare. It was terrible," she says. "Chic. Attacking me. You tried to help me but he got to you and he…hurt you, Juggie. I would not be able to stand it if you got hurt because of me. I was so scared that it was real."

"Bets," I say, putting my hand on either side of her face.

We lean close to each other and I warp her into my embrace. She rests her head on my shoulder.

"Everything is fine. There are a hundred serpents that live in this trailer park. You aren't going to be hurt here," I promise her.

I don't let go of her worried body. She even rests her head on my shoulder. It feels nice to comfort her in this way but then I wonder. How many times has this happened without my ability to soothe? She's been facing so much alone. And I let that happen. My dad won't like it but I can't just leave her here.

"Betty," I say.

"Hm?"

She is already tired. I can practically hear her eyelids closing on my shoulder. Her arm wraps around my waist and she holds onto me as she loses her ability to stay awake. But she loves it. She wants me to stay. I can already feel it.

"Has this happened before?" I ask.

"What?" she asks.

"Nightmares about Chic?"

She sits up but keeps her other arm on my waist. Betty's eyes are sad, her face is flushed and her hair is falling on her sweaty forehead.

"Nightmares about a lot more than that," she admits.

I squeeze her tighter to me.

"Why did you call my name?"

"What are you talking about?"

Her face is of genuine confusion. That's strange because she so blatantly called my name. Even my dad heard it. He told me to come over here because she did. So she must have known that she was calling for me? Her face tells another story.

"You called for me."

"No, I didn't," she says with insistence.

"Yes, you did, Bets. I heard you say my name. Then I came in here," I tell her with honesty. She still looks confused so I pat her shoulder and move her hair from her face, pushing it behind her back.

"It's okay, Bets," I say. "You probably had no idea."

"I remember that in the dream, you were hurt. You were bleeding and begging me to help you and I couldn't. I might have said Jughead when I woke up because I was scared. It was what I said in the dream," she explains.

"It's okay," I tell her. "Go back to sleep."

She nods and slowly lays back down, rubbing her hand over her face and turning on her side. I watch as she plays with my fingers. She is so intently staring at them, moving them around and grazing her hands over my wrists, making me chilled. But I know exactly what she is doing. I see right through her.

"Betty," I say, leaning my head forward.

"I don't want to sleep anymore," she says.

"You don't have to be scared," I tell her. She shakes her head and looks up at me.

"I'm not," she assures. "I'm just annoyed. I don't want to see that stuff over and over again. You should go to sleep. I shouldn't be bothering you."

I climb into the bed next to her. I am tired. But I want her to sleep too. She leans onto me, putting her arms around my body. I can feel her slowly start to relax as my hand traces her back and shoulders. I know this is a bad idea. I should be going back to my bed out in the living room. But I am not just going to leave her here.

"Go to bed, Juggie," she says. "You don't have to babysit me."

"I'm not babysitting you, Betty. I'm taking care of you. You're my girlfriend. Go to sleep. I'll keep your darkness away," I promise her.

Her eyes are closing, her body relaxing against mine as I hold her. I kiss her forehead, feeling my own sleep coming on strong. I don't want to fall asleep here and disrespect my father. But I don't want her to be alone. I consider moving my arm away from her and managing to work quietly all the way back. But the second I move, she holds onto me even tighter.

Instead of leaving, I decide to stay. She is holding me in her sleep so I make sure to hold her back. I don't want her to hurt anymore. She doesn't deserve it.

"Stay," she begs in a tiny whisper.

I asked her to stay once. She complied. I'll help her too. I'll stay.


	17. Jughead Revenge, Not Bughead

**Revenge**

 **Jugehead and the Serpents decide enough is enough when it comes to the bulldogs picking on them and Jug. (This is before they go to the same school.) The Serpents beat the bulldogs.**

 _Jughead…a kid like you, bullied by kids like Jason Blossom._

 _Raised on the other side of the tracks._

 _Girlfriend's a Serpent slut._

 _Outsider, weirdo from the other side of the tracks._

 _Outcast. Doesn't belong anywhere._

"I'm done. I've had it," I say in the whyte wyrm as I pace the grounds. Toni has been trying to back me down this entire time but I am not taking it. I don't want to hear it. I want to be angry. They deserve this.

"What do you want to do about it?" Sweet Pea asks.

I stop my pacing and look him right in his angry face.

"Beat them up. The way they have me for years. I'm tired of getting black eyes, bruised ribs, broken fingers all because they think they can pick on one kid. One outsider. No. Screw that. We're getting revenge," I decide. It's an easy decision. I will destroy them.

"What happened to your eye, Jug?" Fangs asks as he steps up to me. I back away. I don't want anyone to touch me.

"Those bulldogs. And we're gonna put 'em down," Sweet Pea says. He puts his fists together, holding them in front of his large chest. I grab my knife from the table and flip it open, playing with it in my hands.

"Whoa. You didn't say with weapons?" Fangs asks.

"Jug! You know who you are. What would Betty say about this?" Toni asks, putting her hand on my arm. I pull away from her and continue to play with the knife. Betty. Archie is sure to find out about this since he is one of them. I will have to avoid telling her. Or I'll have to be honest with her. My dad already suggested that she join the serpents one day. It won't be dangerous. Maybe she could know.

"She would tell me to hurt them the way they hurt me," I tell Toni. "No Serpent stands alone. But I am not making you do this, Toni. I am asking you to stay the hell out of it if you aren't going to help."

She looks upset and almost angry. She shakes her head, putting her hand on the blade in my own.

"Tell Betty, I'd like to hear what she thinks about you going to the other side of town to beat up a bunch of the kids you go to school with!" she says.

"Shut up, Toni! Betty will understand because she loves me! Hell, she might even help. Either way, we are taking them down. They are at practice. When practice is over, we jump them in the locker rooms."

"Are you serious, Jug? Jump them in the showers? How many times have they done that to you at PE?" Toni asks.

I can feel a familiar anger filling inside me. It is feeding the monster that is the darkness in my soul. Soon the monster will be filled with, ready to rage on the first thing that he sees. I am going to make sure that is the Serpents.

"Yes! And that is exactly why we do it there!" I shout. "Let's go!"

The twenty of us ride our motorcycles without Toni all the way to Riverdale high. It's already dark. We wait just a few feet away under the cover of trees until practice is over. It's not long until we are moving in on them.

"Archie is with them," I say. "Avoid him."

"And if he gets in the way?" Sweet Pea asks.

"He cut us from South Side high during the protest," Fangs says with anger. "He didn't care. He's one of them."

I nod. If he was hurt, Betty would be upset with me. And I don't want to see my friend hurt. But he did betray us. He hurt us. He thought that he was better than us and he cut us from the only thing we had left.

"If he gets in our way, cut him down like he did us," I decide.

We move into the school and I lead them back to the locker rooms. We wait outside of the door, listening in. They are getting changed. I can hear their gear and a few showers starting.

"We start with the first group toward the door. Five of you go back to the showers. No knives. Other than that, nothing's off the table."

I push the door open and sight Reggie right away. He will be my personal victim. He deserves it. I am tired of having people push me around and think that it is okay. They are going to realize I have friends too.

I punch Reggie in the face. He is wearing nothing but his shorts. He is surprised, holding onto his face as he looks back at me. I can hear the beating already start behind me. The Serpents are getting exactly what they wanted from the bulldogs. They are the ones who have always put us down. Now it's our turn.

"What the hell Jughead?" he asks.

"We're tired of the bulldogs putting the Serpents down," I say. "You hit me, you hit us all. We hit you…we hit you all."

I punch him again and again and again. It is just moments before he is leaning against the lockers. His nose is bleeding. I punch him again when she grabs my jacket. I kick him in the balls before I stomp on his foot to get his hands from grabbing me. I make a few more punches before he is on the ground.

I lean down to his face.

"When I was down…bleeding and bruised, wanting nothing more for you to stop kicking my already injured ribs, you kept beating. I am going to beat you while you're down, Reggie. Just like you did for me," I say.

I kick him a few times, beating him the same way that he beat me.

"Jughead?" I hear Archie ask.

I punch Reggie again. I am pretty sure he is unconscious. I turn to my red headed friend with a right shiner. I am guessing he got in someone's way.

"I didn't want you to be a part of this, Archie," I admit. "But you cut us down. You pushed me. You thought that you could control us because you are so much better than the south side, so much better than the serpents…I don't think so."

I bump his shoulder as I push past him. We have delivered our beating. Time's up.

"Coach is coming!" someone shouts.

"Serpents, move out!" I yell.

I open the door as they start running toward it. I look at the bleeding, angry mess we left behind. They will want to get us back for this but they won't go into the south side to get to us. They deserve this.

"Now you know!" I shout. "If any one of you ever tries to hurt a serpent again…you answer to all of us."

I turn and run out the door, leaving Archie's angry face in my rearview.


	18. Bughead Breakfast Conversation

**Breakfast Conversation**

 **This is a conversation between FP, Betty and Jughead. FP gives them relationship advice and the pair are surprised but it is a sweet conversation. Again, this is while Betty lives there for that short period of time.**

I wake up next to Betty. It would be the most incredible, beautiful sight I had ever seen if it weren't for the sound of my dad in the kitchen, making breakfast. I hit the button on the alarm to shut it up. I nudge my blonde beauty beside me. She opens her eyes and looks surprised the second she sees me. I keep my arm around her and attempt to sit up so that we can get up for school.

"Juggie," she says. "You stayed."

"Yeah. I fell asleep," I admit.

"I actually slept?" she says, almost questioning. I lean down to kiss her forehead. She was surprised by sleeping? My poor, beautiful girl. I get up and grab my clothes. I can see my dad through the opening between the rooms. He raises his eyebrows with a pan in his hand. I shrug, knowing that he didn't want me to stay in the room with her. I put my clothes. Before Betty goes into the bathroom, she stops and looks at me, her hand on mine as she stares into my eyes.

"I didn't mean to make you stay," she says.

"You didn't make him do anything, Betty," Dad says from the kitchen. I roll my eyes but agree with him.

"He's right," I tell her. "I wanted to help you."

"Come on, you two! I've got breakfast ready for you in a minute," Dad says again. I grab my hat off the nightstand and put it on as she enters the bathroom. I come out and sit down, seeing eggs and pancakes.

"What's the special occasion?" I ask.

"Nothing. We had leftover pancakes mix yesterday and Pop told me to take it home and make pancakes for you guys today," he says with a smile. It seems dodgy but I decide I shouldn't ask because I like it. Then again, I've never met a meal I didn't like. I dive in before Betty comes out with a pink sweater and jeans. Her hair is up in her perfect ponytail. Part of me loves her clean-cut outward appearance. No one knows the dark, sexy side that I get to see when the lights turn off and the truth comes out.

"Betty! Sit down! Breakfast is ready!" Dad says with a smile. She sits down next to me as dad works around the kitchen. I think he is actually cleaning the dishes that he used to make everything, which is strange but I like it.

"I'm not mad about last night," Dad says casually.

"Sorry about that Mr. Jones. Hopefully, I'll be fine now. This business with Chic has me all in my head about everything," Betty says. I reach over and squeeze her leg a little bit. I don't want her feeling bad about anything. It's not as if it was her fault that she had a nightmare. She has been having them for a long time. At least now I can be there for her.

"No. No. Don't be sorry, Betty," he says. "I'm glad that you can be here where you're safe from all of that. I just wanted to tell you that it's not exactly the first time that Serpents have been with outsiders."

"I know, Dad," I tell him with a mouthful of syrup covered fluffy pancakes. Betty is barely eating.

"No. Just listen, boy," he says, sitting down across from us both. He puts his hands on the table as we eat.

"I know you two are smart but serpents vs. the rest of the world is running high right now. Serpents are proud people. We protect our own. But that means she needs to be our own, Jughead."

I shake my head, realizing where this is going. Betty nods, looking to me almost as if she is eager. I know this is what she wants. But since that day with the pig's blood on her locker, I can't stand the thought of anyone else knowing she is associated with us. She can't walk around with a target on her back. The thought terrifies me.

"No. No way, Betty," I say, looking only to her.

"Relax! I am not suggesting she join the Serpents just yet. I am just telling you that you two are a team. You need to be a team all the time. That means that when you run for student body president together, when you walk the hallways, when you come back to this trailer, when you write for the blue and gold, you are working together."

"We know," I agree.

"I mean it more than you think, Jug. I told you once to fix things with her and you did. That was the right thing to do. But now you can't be worried about the other one not telling the truth. If something bad happens, we need to know immediately. Serpents are going to have her back."

"I don't want her any more involved with them, Dad," I tell him, taking another bite and practically clearing the plate of this wonderful food. He is serious and afraid that we aren't understanding him.

"She already is, Jug. The moment you kissed her, you made her yours, she was a target to people who hate the serpents." He turns to Betty. "People look at you and they see someone who agrees with everything that we do because you support Jug."

"I know, Mr. Jones. I want to be a part of this. I told Toni, that's why I did the Serpent dance and that's why I keep helping you. I don't just want to do it for Juggie. I want to do it for all of you, to be a part of your world," she says. I squeeze her leg a little tighter. But she doesn't look at me.

"And you are. But you aren't a Serpent so they don't like you. It might not be right, but they know what your mom does to us and they don't like you for it. I am sure you can turn that around. But for right now, you have enemies on all sides," he tells her. She presses her lips together, nodding. She is agreeing with him but she is not afraid. She has been the end of the bad jokes and cruel acts against me.

"I am just saying, you two need to watch each other's backs," he concludes.

"We will, dad," I assure.

"And maybe, Betty, you should hang out with the Serpents. Make 'em like you, make 'em your friends. You are not your mother. You've proven that to me and to Jughead. I am sure you can do it with them too," he says.

I shake my head, standing up and putting my plate in the sink. I don't want to hear this anymore. But I know my dad is right. The thought of her standing before Penny with a knife in her hand, ready to mutilate her makes me uncomfortable. It makes me worried and scared and a lot of other confusing feelings.

"We'll be careful, Mr. Jones," she promises and goes back into the bedroom. I can hear her in there. I think she is putting make up on. I go back to my dad and make sure he is paying attention.

"You want Betty to join the Serpents, don't you?" I ask.

"Eventually, maybe. But for now, I want her to be a part of them. You told everyone at the Whyte Wirm that she was part of us. You need to accept that you brought her into this but she likes it. She's not getting out."

"Her with that jacket on is going to put a target on her back!" I say too loudly. I know she can hear me but I don't care. I can't do this. I can't have my girlfriend walking around knowing that she could be beaten at any point.

"She had a target on her back the day you made her yours!" he says.

I sit back, leaning on the counter as Betty comes through with her backpack on her shoulders. She grabs my hand and makes me look at her.

"Come on, Jug," she says. "We have a world to face together."

She makes me smile. I grab my helmet and hand it to her as she walks out the door. I put my pack over my shoulder but dad stops me with his hand on my arm. I turn to him, expecting some kind of reprimand. But he looks sympathetic.

"You've got a good one, Jug. Don't let go of her. Not for the rest of your life," he says, holding his hand out.

"Got it, Dad," I agree, shaking his hand before meeting my world outside our cheap trailer.


	19. Bughead in 03x02

**Jughead and Betty Talk Before the Woods 03x02**

Finally, my beautiful Betty meets me just outside of her house. When she sees my figure, she stands still, looking at me. Her face looks like it might break. Her hands are in fists at her sides. I know exactly what she is doing. It scares me. But I am not going to let her hurt because of me. There is no way that is happening.

I grab her body and pull my arms around her, encompassing her entire being with my body. She leans her head on my chest. I can hear her breathing against my body. Her hands are still in fists. I don't want to pull away but I want to fix them. Instead, I let her use me as her body shield for several minutes. When she finally lifts her head, I take her hands and unfold them, wrapping mine in hers instead.

"From now on, when you're with me, and you're going to do that," I say, looking right into her tearful eyes. I wish she wouldn't cry. I can already feel it like a pain in my chest. "You just hold onto my hands and squeeze. You can even do that to me. But just…don't do it to yourself anymore. Okay?"

I know my voice sounds desperate at the end but I don't care. Maybe if she knows how much I hate it, she'll stop. Betty nods and then holds my hands, squeezing them. I smile just a little bit until I can feel the stinging on the back of my hand. I realize what she is doing so I don't make another expression. She has to know it's okay, even if I don't like it.

"Now, can you please tell me why you didn't tell me about the seizure?" I ask her. She looks almost surprised.

"What?"

"You asked about why I didn't tell you, not why I had one," she says.

"Because you're obviously okay right now. And I want to know why. I can't stand the thought of you going through something like that and not telling me because you thought you couldn't," I tell her, not even pretending to hide the pain in my voice. I know she can hear it. I feel it too. But I want her to know that this hurt me.

"I was…embarrassed, Jug," she says.

I wrap my body around hers again, putting her head on my chest and just holding her there. Maybe this is what I should have done from the beginning. Just hold her. I kiss her forehead, squeezing her body and making sure to stay as close as I can.

"You came to the hospital to see me. I was in one of those stupid gowns and everything hurt so bad I almost cried once or twice but you were there," I whisper against her. She pulls away to look at me but still keeps her arms around my waist. I decide she doesn't want this comfort to leave so I make sure to keep my arms around her too.

"You were embarrassed by that?" she asks.

I nod.

"What? No," she says, putting her hand on the side of my cheek. I smile a little, leaning into her.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"But it's the same thing. You didn't either. But you still didn't tell me. I let you in because I knew, even though it was awful, it would make me feel better." I pause. I didn't want to throw this in her face but I can't stop thinking about it. "The fact that no one called me when you had a seizure and were in the hospital all night, makes me angry, Betty. You were the first person I wanted to see. You and my dad. I would've expected my dad to call you and if he didn't, I would've."

"That's not the same," she says. "Other people did that to you. This just happened to me because I was stressed."

"But you're missing the point," I tell her, keeping her face looking at me so that maybe I can get it across. "When something happens, you have to tell me. If you can't, we need to expect your mom to tell me. I am your boyfriend, Betty. I thought we just agreed. We're partners. If I had to find out from another Serpent that our queen was in the hospital, can you imagine how I would feel?"

She nods, tears coming to her eyes again. It makes me want to pull her in but I don't. I have to let her respond first.

"You're right," she agrees. "You're right and I'm sorry. I'll make sure that I tell you everything. I should have told you."

I nod. "Good."

Now that is out of the way and I feel like I need to mention something else. I need to tell her the other things that I have been thinking about. We do have to go meet Ethyl and do this whole thing in the woods. But I can't let this go.

"If it happened to me, would you be scared?" I ask her.

"Yeah," she agrees, putting her other hand to my face. "But I promise you that I am okay. It was stress. I am going to be fine."

"What was it like?" I ask her, not sure if I should or not but I want to know. I want to know what it felt like for her. Maybe then I can understand why she didn't tell me.

"Scary. I was hallucinating."

"What did you see?"

"My mom and Polly in the backyard with a bunch of other people around a campfire. They were all wearing white. They were murmuring something in another language. It was so strange." She shudders so I put my arms on her waist again, trying to make her feel safe.

"That sounds weird," I agree. But there is something else. I can see it in her eyes, though she won't look directly at me. There is something she is leaving out. I can already tell. She wants to tell me but maybe she isn't sure how.

"But my mom said that they were outside with some friends from the farm," she says with worry. "So, I think most of it was real."

"Then what was the fake part?" I ask.

She looks scared when she finally meets my eyes. I make sure to hold her shaking frame so I can take away some of that fear.

"I saw my mom and Polly holding up Juniper and Dagwood. They held them over the fire and they…levitated. Then they just fell, right into the fire. I woke up in the hospital after that," she says.

"Oh, Betty," I say, kissing her forehead. I brush a tear away that falls down her cheek as she stares back at me.

"Come on," she says, nodding toward the street. "We should get going."

She starts walking but I grab her arm and turn her around. More tears. I brush them all away and then kiss her again.

"You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah. It was scary and weird but it was all fake. I'm okay," she says with a small smile. She puts her hands around my neck, warming me up and looks up into my eyes. She is not scared anymore.

"We'll figure out this farm thing together too," I promise her. I wait but she doesn't say anything. "Do you believe me?"

"Yes."

"Alright, then. Come on, you can tell me more about it in the woods."

"Yes, the ideal perfect date," she agrees, taking my hand and turning her flashlight on as we begin our next adventure.


	20. The Night Without Betty

**The Night Without Betty**

 **The night after Betty breaks up with Jughead. He does a stupid thing: makes out with Toni. He realizes it's a bad decision. What happens? Let's find out.**

Her kiss is nothing like Betty's. That is my first thought when I feel Toni's lips on mine. But I don't care. That's my second thought. Every time I lean closer to her, pull her in and kiss her harder, it just hurts more. But the pain is worth it. I deserved every hit and blow that I got today. I deserve this pain too. I neglected her. I should've talked to her. She sent Archie? Why would she send Archie?

I grab Toni and pull her on top of me so that she is on my lap as kiss. It doesn't work. I can still think about it. I can still feel Betty's body. Her legs are thicker, tighter against me. Her legs are where my hands go but I find no pleasure under my fingertips when I grip her. Betty's are more urgent and rougher. Toni is kissing me as if I might break.

I pull away from her for a moment and look into her eyes. I don't find lust. But I find a distant longing. Maybe she is lonely too. She can see right through me. If I weren't kissing her right now, I would be crying or screaming or probably hitting a lot of things. That's what I want to do. It's almost as if she can tell.

"You want to stop, Jones?" she asks.

I shake my head. I don't even feel like talking to her. My body is too sore and in pain to move. If I were with Betty, she would be gentle with me. She would roll on top of me and kiss my neck as I held her. But I don't want that because I can't have it.

I grab the back of Toni's hair and pull on it as I kiss her. It is enough to make Toni surprised. She gasps when I do this, which I take as a good sign. I can't decipher what it means when she puts her hands in my hair. I can feel her going for my hat. No way. I put my hand on top of hers, moving it so that it is back on my shoulder. She seems to get the idea and doesn't try to take my hat off again.

I will take it off with Betty but never for her. She is not my girlfriend. So, does doing this make me a terrible person? Does it make it even worse that I am sort of getting turned on by her when she grinds her hips on mine? Probably. But I don't care. I am a terrible person for a lot of reasons tonight. We can just add this one to the list.

"Toni," I mumble and reach my hand down her body.

She nods when I reach her inner thigh. I don't know if I want to go further so I go back to kissing her neck. She seems surprised when I keep my hand on her leg and then move it back to her waist. But I can't do it. I can't make her feel that. Not when I am thinking about how that particular region would feel on Betty right now. that's not fair to her.

"Jug," she says.

I look up into her eyes. She seems reluctant and moves her hand down my chest to my pants. She rubs her hand over me and I let my head fall back. It feels good but not right so I take her hand back and kiss her again.

I close my eyes when I kiss her, losing myself in every grind and touch that we share. I don't want to remember a thing about it. I just want to feel like I can forget all of this pain that is pounding against my chest right now. I want to let go of it all. I moan against her lips and push her hips down onto mine harder, grinding up into her. I hear her gasp and then moan just slightly. Good enough for me. I do it again and again as we make out with our hands all over each other. I don't know how long this lasts before she stops with a smile.

"What?" I ask as she sits on top of me, right above where I wish Betty was. I can almost see her light blue eyes filled with lust as they so often are when we are together like this. I can almost feel her heat. No. Stop.

This is Toni.

"Nothing," she says with a shrug. "We should probably stop."

"Why?"

She gets off of me and stands, fixing her hair and adjusting her shorts as she looks at me with a blatant expression.

"Did I do something wrong?" I ask, confused.

"No, Jones. But I don't think I want a one-night stand and it's getting late."

I nod, understanding.

"You could stay if you want," I tell her. She grabs her bag and throws it over her shoulder, looking reluctant. But I can tell she wants to.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Thanks."

I don't follow her back to the room. I just point it out to her and go to the couch. I don't want to sleep beside her. That is meant for one person. Though, I guess, I'll have to rethink that definition now that that one person is gone. Gone.

That emotion that I have been doing such a great job of controlling is back. It hits me as hard as a rock to the chest. I stand up and go to the living room where I walk around in small circles, trying so hard to control it. But I don't think that I can.

Soon it will take me over.

She said she loved me. I saw it in her eyes every time she looked at me. She needed me. Betty needed me and then she broke up with me? That makes no sense. If she were scared of me turning to the dark side, she would not have sent Archie. She would have told me herself. Why would she do that?

I feel as broken as the day my mother and Jellybean left. I feel as broken as the day my dad admitted to killing Jason. I feel as broken as the moment that Betty sent Archie to break up with me. And all of those broken pieces shatter. They fall onto the ground, become nothing but dust as the hit the cement. Now I'm alone.

I'm alone.

I don't bother to find the couch. My legs won't move. The tears and sobbing rack my body so hard that I can feel nothing but pain and hate. I collapse to my knees, not caring that the pain shoots up my entire body that is already sore. The tears don't just stay where they are. I practically catch them in my hands as I sob on the floor of my pain. She really did that to me. She left me.

No.

This can't be happening.

I feel like I might be sick as I cry into my hands. My entire body has never hurt this much. Maybe I will just die soon. Maybe that would be better. Just die right here on this floor. maybe Archie will find me and tell her for me.

 _I love you, Betty._

 _Why did you do this to me?_

 _Why did you leave me?_

 _I love you, Betty. I love you._

The crying doesn't cease. When I finally drag myself to the couch, I barely have enough strength to push my boots off of my feet and let them drop onto the floor. The sobs hurt my chest but it just reminds me of what I did. I wasn't there for her. I joined the serpents behind her back. I lied to her over and over again. I did this. I deserve it.

The pain continues. I don't slip even one moment the entire night. My eyes are plastered open with tears and thoughts of redemption.

 _I need you, Betty. I love you and I need you back. Just believe in me a little longer…please._


	21. Sick Juggie at School, Betty Helps

**Sick Jughead at School**

 **Jughead gets sick at school and doesn't want Betty to know. His friends notice and try to take care of him.**

I have been feeling sick all day. I woke up with a headache and my stomach feels like it might fall out of my ass at any moment. Or maybe I'll choke on it. My throat is sore and everything is hurting. But I try to hold all of that back. I just want to be okay.

I lay my head down on the desk for just a few seconds. The next thing I know my eyelids are sticking and my lips feel dirty. I wake up, wiping my mouth off sit up. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I try to chuckle but it fails.

"Archie?" I ask.

"What's up? You okay, Juggie?" he asks.

"Sure. Thanks," I say, grabbing my bag. Normally, I have no problem. But right now, it feels like a heavy weight on my body. I try to focus on the things in front of me as I walk but I can still feel the uneasy sense in my stomach. I cough, trying so hard to hold back the bile. I don't want to throw up. It will just hurt my head that much more. I grab another book from my locker and make it all the way to class. I don't know how because my body hurts so much that I am wondering if it is even possible.

I sit down in my desk and rest my head on my arm. When the bell rings, I sit straight up and try to remember to stay calm. Nothing works. My head is throbbing so badly I can't even see the right way. Everything is blurry. My eyes are hurting. My body is aching. My face is hot and my stomach is clenching. It won't stop. I lean over my own body as class starts, watching the teacher move back and forth. After a while, I can't watch her anymore. It's making my stomach hurt worse and my mouth feel fuzzy.

Class feels like it is taking hours. But it doesn't. It's the same time it always is. Every moment feels like another brick on my chest or more knots in my stomach. I force myself to stand when the bell rings and make my way over to my locker. I let my head fall on the coolness of the metal. I get lost in it. The soothing nature of the cold is almost impossible to walk away from. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"What?" I ask but even that hurts so bad I am not sure if I should do it. It makes me feel more like I might throw up.

I manage to turn my head and the room starts spinning. Oh no. I see Betty but she looks like she is upside down and sideways all at the same time. She looks worried and scared. But I can barely tell through the feeling in my gut.

I grab her hand and move her away from me as I run past her and into the men's room. I empty the contents of my dinner in the toilet, feeling disgusted and sad. I try hard not to let my eyes water. I hate this feeling. It's so scary. I close my eyes, letting the tears fall and brushing them away with the back of my hand. I stand up and go to the sink, rinsing my mouth out a few times before I am sure that my stomach has stopped clenching. It still hurts though. It hurts enough for me to have to lean over but I am sure I am not going to be sick. At least not right now. but then my head starts throbbing again. It is throbbing bad enough for me to hold my hand to it when I walk out, collapsing against the wall. I can't manage to keep myself up right and my head is making my eyes water.

I feel a hand on me again.

"Juggie," she says. It's Betty. I lean into her cool hand as she brushes it against my hot face. I keep my eyes closed. I don't hear people in the halls anymore. The bell must have rang and I didn't even hear it.

"Don't get sick," I tell her but I can't pull away from her. I need her to be close to me. I need her to comfort me in this. I don't know why but everything just makes me feel so weak. She gives me just a little more strength.

"It's okay," she says. "Let's get you back to the trailer."

"How?" he asks.

"I can call Fred," she offers.

"Don't bother him," I say and then regret it because I need help. My legs suddenly feel weak and shaky. I sit down on the ground. Betty grabs onto my arm in shock and tries to help me so I don't fall. I can hear her worry but I can't make out her words. My headache is so loud. The pain is so severe that I can't remember how to function.

I feel Betty leaning close to my side. She has her arm around my knees and is letting my head fall on her shoulder.

I can faintly hear her talking.

"It's Jughead. I can help him but he needs to get back home. He's really sick."

There is a long pause.

"As quickly as you can. He really needs medicine and a bed…no. No hospitals. He won't like that."

I try to shake my head but I feel her kiss my forehead.

"It's okay, Juggie," she whispers. "He'll be here really soon. He's gonna drop us off at your house. You'll be okay."

"Don't go."

"I won't."

She stands up and reach out but it hurts. She grabs my hand and helps me stand under my arms. I lean on her body weight but I don't want her to feel like she has to hold me up. I don't know how well I can hold myself up so I decide that leaning on her is the best option. She helps drag me along until I can feel the cool breeze on my face. I sigh in relief as I feel this pleasure, something just a little bit better than the hell I am in.

She brings me to a car and tells me to sit down in the back. But I can't hold myself up. She lets me fall into her lap. I rest my head on her as she brushes her hands over my face and kisses my forehead.

"Jughead?" I hear. It's not her voice. it's another voice. But I can't see. My head hurts too bad. My vision is too blurry.

"He's hurting, Mr. Andrews," Betty says. So that must be who it is. Mr. Andrews did answer. He is taking us back to my trailer. Maybe there I can lay down and Betty can help me. maybe I can get some sleep and make this all go away.

"Betty," I say, reaching out to her as the car starts to move and I don't feel well again. My stomach aches bad enough for me to curl in on my body. She grabs my hand and I squeeze her fingers.

"Almost, Juggie," she says.

"Hurts."

"Do you want to go to a hospital?" she asks.

"No. No. Please no," I tell her. I hate those places and I hate the bills when it's all done. That's how my dad lost his work with Andrews the first time. He took side jobs to pay for medical bills. Well we don't have that kind of money. I'll have to figure out how to be okay again without that.

"Alright," she assures. "Alright."

I feel Betty petting my head, massaging it under my hat.

When we arrive, she grabs me under my arms and helps me inside. I try to thank Mr. Andrews but I am not sure that it comes out right. She brings me into the house. I stumble on the steps and almost fall over when the pain gets bad enough. But then she grabs my hand and squeezes. I try my best to help her as I fall on the bed.

I can feel her taking my shoes off and then pulling my hat from my head. I curl on my side and she tries to take my jacket off. it takes a while but eventually it is off and I lay down on the bed with my head on the pillow, feeling cold but hot at the same time. Betty puts her hand on my forehead and then pulls the blanket up to my waist.

I feel her start to leave so I grab her hand, reaching as far as I can. She gets the idea and leans closer to me.

"I'm going to get something to bring your fever down and help with your headache. Then maybe this stuff will go away," she says, putting her hand on my forehead. I can finally see her again. Her face is in anguish and her body remains rigid with fear. I see her hands clenched in fists at her sides. I reach down to grab them, opening them up and kissing them gently but still keeping her close.

"Lay with me?" I ask.

She nods. "Let me get the medicine first."

I nod in return but then grab her hand again, showing her the marks that she is making on her perfect body.

"Don't do that," I beg her, tears coming to my eyes. Everything about me feels so weak and fragile. It's all because of this weird sickness but I can't control my emotions either. "Don't hurt yourself because of me. Please."

"I won't," she promises.

She leaves. I am alone. It is only a few seconds but is almost unbearable. I try not to feel the pain in my chest like tears in my eyes. I feel my shuddering breath and then I am falling apart, tears on my cheeks and my chest aching. Then my stomach is aching and I am having to lean over, begging it to stop.

She comes back in just a few seconds but I am already in agony. She finds me in a disheveled mess.

"Jug!" she shouts.

I don't want to say anything. I feel too ashamed to say anything. Something is wrong. I just don't know what it is. She leans over me and holds out the medicine and a cup of water. She just nods so I take it and then hold my arms out of her. After setting the cup down, Betty lays in my arms and I rest my body in hers. We hold each other in perfect bliss. She brushes the tears from my cheeks with a question on her face. I know what she wants to ask but I don't want to answer. I don't know how to answer.

"I'm scared," I admit.

"Why? You'll be okay. It's probably the flu but you'll be okay. You just have to get over this part and then you'll be fine."

I nod but that's not what I meant. I lean closer to her, wanting her to understand. She rests her hand on the side of my face. It feels good.

"Tell me," she says.

"If I ever got sick when I was a kid, my parents would argue about whether to take me to the doctor or not. They almost never did. They did one time when I got pretty bad but then they couldn't afford it. I just don't like feeling like I'm a burden. This kind of pain is not something I can control. I don't like it."

She pets her had down my face and then down my neck and side. She continues to do this as my eyes get heavier. I want to close them and feel better. I want to but if I do, she'll leave. When I woke up, Mom was always gone. She never stayed.

"Betty," I beg. "Stop."

"You need sleep, Jug. Your body can heal itself when you sleep. With the medicine and sleep, you should be alright," she says.

"But then you'll leave," I promise. I know she will. That pain in my chest is worse than anything I have ever felt before.

"Of course, I won't. I have nowhere else to go. Just let me help you."

I nod and close my eyes. "It's worse than last time."

"I know."

"What do we do about it?" I ask.

"I will have to think of something. you sleep. I won't leave and I'll think of something. I promise," she assures.

I let her put me to sleep. The feeling of her hand on my face and in my hair soothes me more than she knows.


	22. Toni and Jughead and Cheryl and Betty

**Cheryl and Betty vs. Jughead and Toni. You made out with Who?!**

 **A little one shot about how Cheryl finds out that Jughead and Toni made out once. This was a request. Thanks! Enjoy! Jughead POV.**

"You made out with who?" I hear from the hall. It's Cheryl no doubt. Though, I am not sure why she is talking so loudly. She does tend to talk so that the entire school can hear. Typical egocentrism. Though she should be out of that stage of cognitive development, she never passed that level.

I close my locker door and turn around. I jump back into my locker when I see Betty standing in front of me. I put my hand to my chest to catch my breath with a smile on my face. I rest my head on the locker, adjusting my hand on my strap.

"Betty," I say, sighing. "You look like you're going to tell me that there was another murder or something. You're scaring me."

She doesn't attempt at comfort or adjustment, which is strange. I grab her hand but she doesn't hold it back. That sends fear directly to my heart. I squeeze her, stepping closer and making her look at me.

"What's wrong?" I demand.

"Cheryl knows," she says.

"Cheryl knows everything, Betty," I assure. "That doesn't exactly make sense as to why you're acting like you're going to do something drastic…which is still scaring me by the way."

She puts her hand on my chest, over my heart. At least it makes me feel a little better. I lean into her and her eyes become somewhat soft.

"I have a feeling that a certain can of pink Toni sized worms is opening right now," she says, pressing her lips together in that way that she does when she starts worrying. I put my hand on the back of her head and lean close to her, kissing her forehead and trying to understand what I can only assume is girl talk.

"What does that mean, my wonderfully female friend?" I ask. She doesn't smile, which is concerning.

"Cheryl sort of asked Toni about who she had been with in the past and something came up. Then I was walking in the hallway and she asked me if there had been anything between you two. I didn't see a reason to lie so I just told her. Now she's talking to Toni about it and she doesn't seem very happy," she says. It is almost too fast for my brain to catch up with but I attempt to manage.

"Okay. Let's avoid them," I say.

I grab her hand and walk down the hall. The sound of clambering heels against tile. Then there is that familiar high-pitched voice. I turn a corner, trying to walk faster but she follows. Then there is the sound of boots against tile. Of course, it is both of them now.

"You can't avoid me forever, cockroach!" Cheryl says.

She grabs my shoulder and turns me around. I am forced to face the cherry faced apparent lesbian that is now dating my one-time fling. Betty keeps her hand on mine but is hiding slightly behind my shoulder. I don't mind it. this really had nothing to do with her anyway. She shouldn't have said anything to them about it but then again, to us, me making out with Toni didn't matter. Maybe she didn't even think anything of it.

"You made out with my girlfriend?" Cheryl asks.

"Cheryl, you weren't dating at the time," I tell her. She looks angry, almost like a small purse dog yelping at its owner with no assistance from them.

"But you did!" she shouts. "Admit it!"

"Yes. I did. Well, technically she made out with me."

"Juggie!" Toni shouts. Betty steps out from behind me and stands in front of Toni then. She tilts her head toward her. They are like two snakes sparing, staring at each other to see which will strike first.

"Okay, this looks like a toxic estrogen fight," I tell them and turn around.

"Oh no! We are solving this," Cheryl says, grabbing my arm and bringing me back to them. I lean my head back, racking myself with the answers. But I don't have any. I can't come up with anything that will change the behavior in front of me.

"What do you want from me?"

"You made out with Toni but you're with Betty now. Betty kissed Archie but Archie's with Veronica now. What did you do about it?" she asks, smiling. I don't understand how she can be angry and smile at the same time. I am confused enough to answer the question since I know where she is going with this.

"Veronica suggested that she and I kiss. That way we couldn't hold the other kiss over that person and we were even," I explain.

"Juggie," Toni says, stepping closer to me.

"What the hell, Toni? I am standing right here!" she shouts.

"Betty," I warn.

"Why are you calling him that?" Cheryl asks, turning to her with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh my god. This is not happening," I mumble.

"What?" Toni asks.

"Don't call him that. I call him that. He's mine now, Toni. He only kissed you because he was sad about me."

"Yeah, sad that you let Archie break up with him for you!" she says.

"Just drop it, Toni," I tell her.

Then there is utter chaos. All three of the girls are talking back and forth, arguing and shouting rude comments. None of them make any sense to me and I realize that I am alone in this argument. I know it was a bad decision but I never thought that it would come up again after all this time.

"Alright! Alright! That's enough!" I shout.

All three girls look to me in silence. But I am only paying attention to one. Betty has a look of hurt and pain on her face. She hates talking about this again but she is scared of what happened. I reach out and hold her hand. She gives me a small smile that is somewhat helpful. It at least gives me the chance to calm myself down. My heart rate slows just enough for me to speak without shaking.

"How do you want to solve this, Betty?" I ask.

"I say—"

"Cheryl! I am talking to my girlfriend," I tell her and then look back to Betty. She shrugs, looking hurt.

"I didn't think it was a problem."

"Did you hate the fact that we did stuff?" I ask.

"Don't make it sound like that Jones. You didn't even make me—" Toni starts. I turn to her with anger on my face.

"I am talking to Betty!" I shout again.

"Of course, I hated it. When I didn't like that you and Archie kissed, Veronica and I kissed to even it out. We've never even mentioned any of it until now. It never bothered any of us again. So maybe if we do that now, we'll be done with it. Is that what you want?" I ask her. She shrugs. It is not exactly the same but I was hoping that it would work.

"Not really," she says.

"Oh, thank god," I say, running my hand down my face.

"Dear cousin, I am not kissing you. We have enough accusations surrounding our family," Cheryl says. "But I still want to know what happened between you two."

I look to Toni and then back to Betty. Cheryl is waiting for someone to explain.

"You could ask her. She was there too," I say.

Toni looks angry but she knows I am right.

"I kind of want to know too, Jug," Betty admits. I don't drop her hand. I squeeze it. She has every right to know. Toni steps in between everyone and throws her hands up. I hate it when she gets crazy like this.

"Fine!" she shouts.

"I kissed Jughead because he looked like he was about to cry over Betty. I don't know how to deal with crying so I kissed him."

"That's it?" Betty asks.

"I was not crying, Toni. I was angry."

"Whatever. We kissed, he pulled me on his lap. We kissed more. We took our jackets off. He wouldn't even let me take his hat off. That was it," she promises. "We stopped after we made out for a while."

"Nothing else?" Cheryl asks. Toni turns to her, looking vulnerable again.

"Nothing."

"Come on, Bets," I say, grabbing her hand and throwing my arm around her shoulders. We can faintly hear them talking as we walk past them into the halls with the rest of the crazies. She is quiet for a while.

Then finally, "What did Toni mean before you stopped her?" she asks. She would have to ask that. I look right at her, holding her hand and making sure that I never have to explain any of this ever again in my life.

"I put my hand on her but I never like actually did anything. It was over her clothes and it was for like thirty seconds."

She nods but I can tell that she hates it.

"I was angry, Betty," I admit.

"I know," she says.

"Look, we stopped, okay? We never really did anything and she said that it was obvious that I wasn't over you. She slept in my bed and the second she was gone, I fell on the floor, crying." She puts her hand on my cheek then, looking into my eyes. "I was crying like that all night. Eventually I got on the couch, I think. But everything just hurt so bad."

"I didn't sleep either," she says. "I was still so in love with you. I never wanted to hurt you. I cried all night, part of the next day too."

I pull her in for a hug and encompass her in safety.

"We're okay, Bets," I promise. "That was the black hood's doing. Not ours."

She turns her head to the pair of girls that are kissing against the locker yards away. She smiles, almost laughing. I turn my head back to her.

"Would you have kissed Cheryl to make yourself feel better?" I ask.

"No way," she says. "We have had enough incest in this family. Lesbian incest?" she says with a shiver. "Too crazy, even to make a point…even for Riverdale."

I laugh and throw my arm around her, walking to our next class together.


	23. Jughead and Betty in the Hospital

**Betty and Her Father**

 **Betty has a nightmare about her father while she stays the night with Jug in the hospital.**

I hear her screaming the moment she wakes. She jolts upright and I grunt in pain as I lay back in the hospital bed, trying really hard not to show her how much her movement hurt. She didn't mean to. I grab her hand but then realize just how sore my arm is from Penny digging at it. I set my arm back down and then lift on my elbows to look at her. I grunt but hold my breath, begging that pain to go away.

"Betty?" I ask.

She breathes heavily, staring at the room around us as if looking for something. I see the panic on her beautiful face, the rigid behavior of her body. I realize just what is going on. It is not what but who she is looking for.

"Betty," I say. "He's not here. He can't get to you or to me or anyone ever again. He's gone, Bets."

She turns around with tears and anguish on her face. I grab her arm and pull her down to me, trying so hard to make sure that she doesn't see just how much pain I am in. I pull her close enough to lay down on my chest. It hurts but it is satisfying. I want her to be close. At least then I can be sure she is protected.

"It's okay, Betty," I assure.

I push myself up so that I can see her face. She is looking at me with fear and sadness. I push her hair behind her ear and then drag my fingers down the side of her face with a small smile. She presses her lips together.

"What is it?" I ask her.

She shrugs.

"Talk to me," I beg.

"My dad. He held us captive, Jug. He showed us this video of him when he was a kid. His mom told him that he had to do better," she says. It barely makes sense but it is enough for me to understand how much pains she is in too.

"You said that in your speech," I realize.

She nods. "He said that when I said that, he realized that he had to fulfill something that his father started. He said that my grandfather had this darkness in him and that he passed it on to my father and then he said that…that he passed it on to me. He told my mom that darkness lived inside of me."

"Betty," I say, brushing a tear from her cheek as she breaks my heart just a little more. "I have darkness too. But we can all overcome that darkness when we have to. It's not easy. But when we have something so bright and beautiful and radiant, it will outshine any amount of darkness that lives inside us."

She rests her forehead on mine. I lean close to her, allowing her to put her body weight on me as I wrap my arm around her. It aches and hurts and it's bruised as all hell but it is better than trying to lift the one with the bandage still wrapped around it and the muscles feeling weak. I let my arm drape across her, holding her close enough to me that she can feel my heart. It always calms me to feel hers.

"I love you," she whispers.

"I love you too," I say.

But it restricts my breathing too much and I cough, letting go of everything that I have been hiding from her. She pulls away in shock and looks at me with horror, not touching a single part of my body. I want to pull her back but know that I can't use that kind of strength yet. My body is too sore.

"I was hurting you!" she says.

"I'm okay," I promise. "Everything hurts right now. I'm sore from all the bruising but it'll go away soon. The second day is always the worst."

"What about your arm?" she asks.

She brushes her fingers over the bandage. I look over at it. It's still pure white, which means at least it's not opening again. it does hurt like a bitch but I am not going to tell it to her quite like that.

"It's alright," I muster. "It's weak but it's okay."

She touches the center of it and I wince, giving away my lie. She tilts her head forward and then crosses her arms over each other as she looks down at me. I realize I have been caught. I shouldn't be doing that.

"Stop lying to me, Jug," she begs.

"I wasn't lying, Bets. I promise. I was leaving out part of the truth but I wasn't lying. It is weak. And it is okay. It stings. My bruises are sore. My face hurts from the cuts. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"What else?"

"Bets," I beg.

She just waits so I have no choice but to continue.

"My stomach is aching all the time and my chest hurts from getting kicked. Cracked ribs don't make anything easy."

"I can't sleep on you. I'm hurting you," she says.

"No. Betty. I'm okay."

"You're not."

Betty stands up and grabs a pillow from the couch, placing it on the edge and sitting down so far from me I can actually feel the panic growing in my stomach.

" _I just wanted you to know that I love you." I have never been so scared before in my life and I want you so badly. Just know that I am going to do everything I can to come home to you. "I'll never stop loving you."_

"Jug?" she asks when she hears my rapid breathing. "Does something hurt? Is something wrong?"

I lean up on my elbows and beg myself to calm down. It does nothing. I am still scared. I look to her and reach my hand out.

"I need you," I say.

She nods and then comes back over to me. She sits on the edge of my bed and puts her hand on my head in my hair. Her other hand grazes my chest carefully, dancing her fingers along my hospital gown.

"It's okay, Jug. I'm right here," she says.

"I thought I was saying goodbye," I admit.

"I thought you were too."

She puts her hand under my chin and then around my face, letting it rest against my cheek. I lean down on her hand, finally able to breathe. I try hard to remember how to be okay. I am here in this hospital and she is with me. We are both okay.

"When your dad was in your house, you told me that he threatened your mom and that she hit him over the head. Did he threaten you?"

She nods. "He was going to kill us. He said that he wanted people to understand when they found us."

"Oh god, Betty. I'm so sorry."

"We're alright. We were both threatened with death that night, Jug. It's okay to be scared of it," she says. I nod with a very small smile.

"I know, Bets. I'm not scared of Penny. I wasn't even scared of the pain, though I did hate it. I'm scared that something bigger is going to happen one day and we aren't going to see each other anymore."

"No, Juggie," she promises. "We're safe now."

"Safe," I test out the word.

She nods.

"Please stay with me. Don't sleep over there. I need you close and if the darkness comes, I want to be able to push it away for you," I tell her.

She leans down on me very gently, only on my better arm and resting her head softly on my chest. I can feel her still trying to hold herself up. But that is not what I want. I need her closer than this.

"Betty, just lay on me," I tell her.

"I can't hurt you, Jug."

"Just put your weight on me. Lay down, Bets. Just don't lay on my ribs and I'll be fine, I promise."

Finally, she rests her head on the upper part of my chest so that my arm can wrap around her waist. She leans down to pull the white hospital blanket up on the both of us, one of her legs wraps around my own so that we are perfectly intertwined. Her body weight rests only partly on me. But it is enough for me to feel safe under her weight.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you too, Jug. Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I won't," I promise with a smile. "Now go to sleep. You need rest. If the darkness comes, I'll be sure to push it away."


	24. Betty Nightmare 2x22

**Betty has a nightmare about Jug and he is still sore from being beaten. After 2x22 but before the summer.**

I watch as her face contorts into a grimace. She squeezes me a little tighter around my body and I try hard not to grunt back at her. My body is still sore enough for me to have to press my lips together to keep from groaning in pain. My beautiful Betty moans in her sleep and it is not the kind of moan I want to hear from her.

Her eyes squint and her body becomes rigid at my side, squeezing me tighter. I tickle my hand up her arm and talk into her ear.

"You're okay," I promise her. "Everything is fine, Betty."

She doesn't move. Her nightmare rages on as her body throbs and her mind wonders. I can feel her anguish even in the slightest movement of her fingers or the jump of her bare legs against mine.

I turn myself around with great effort on my right arm. It hurts so I try to keep the wound off of the pillow. It doesn't matter. It still hurts. I have to let myself put some weight on my side or I can't hold myself up. I shake her body a little bit. I rest my hand on her shoulder to move her. She barely budges. I do this a few more times until she finally gasps. I grab her shoulders when she throws herself forward.

Tears fall down her face as she makes a strangled sound of pain and fear.

"Betty. I'm here," I whisper to her, putting my arm around her body. I pull her close to me and realize that I can't hold her up with how much my body hurts. Every part of me is sore. My back and stomach are sore enough that I can't hold myself, much less her. I rest back on my elbow and let her lean on me. she rests her head on my chest but doesn't say anything. It scares me even more.

"Betty," I say. "It's okay. What happened?"

She sniffles and shakes her head against my chest. I rest back onto the pillow and allow her to do the same, staying as close to me as she can. She wipes her face off and then pulls herself up so that she can see me. I grunt when she uses my chest to hold up her body. She realizes what she did and gasps.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbles. I try to interrupt her but fail. "I didn't realize that I was hurting you. I should have remembered. I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm just sore, Bets. It's not a big deal," I promise with a smile, resting my hand on the side of her face. She leans into my palm and I can't help but smile. she finds herself smiling just a little bit. But the side of her face is wet. She really was crying. I brush my thumb under her eye and she presses her lips together.

"Was it about your father?" I ask.

She shakes her head.

"What?" I ask, confused. She shrugs and then takes my hand, kissing my bloody knuckles and resting it in her lap afterwards. I let her sit up next to me because I don't think that I can sit next to her like that. I can't hold myself up.

"What was it about, Betty? Please just tell me."

She sighs and then nods. I know whatever it was, it must have been painful. I kiss her fingers, bringing them to my face as she starts to tell me.

"You were dead. I walked into the funeral and everyone was standing there looking at me. Archie was crying so bad. I tried to console him and he just cried. Then there was Veronica. She looked sad but also guilty. My parents. And…FP was drunk. He was stumbling around talking about you."

"Sh, Bets," I tell her. I rest my hand on hers and kiss her forehead. I shush her again as she heaves her breathing. When she is finally breathing normally, I pull her close to me and let her head rest on my shoulder.

"Betty, you're okay," I promise. "I'm okay. I didn't die. I am right here with you. You don't have to be scared about that. I am not going anywhere."

She sighs.

"You can never do anything like that again, Jug," she says.

"What do you mean?"

"I need you. I need you to be okay. You can't sacrifice yourself and you can't let yourself get hurt because I need you around. You can't let me down like that, Jug. I would never do that to you. If I were dead—"

"I would be crushed," I agree. I know what she wants to tell me. It makes sense. I should not have done what I did. I thought I was helping someone. I did not realize it would hurt Betty so much. I never wanted to make her cry.

"I would probably die with you," I say. "I won't do anything crazy ever again. I promise you that, Betty."

She nods against me.

I grunt when I feel her head move. I squeeze her shoulder as pain shoots down my chest and across my muscles. I lean down further, hoping to use less muscles than I was before but it only sends another pain going up my spine. I shout when I feel it, grabbing onto the sheets and moaning.

"Jug. Let me help you," she begs.

I nod. I didn't realize how much pain I was in. Betty puts her arm under me and helps me scoot down. I groan again, grabbing onto her arm and looking her in the eyes with a warning of fear.

"What is it, Jug?" she asks.

"Just hurts, Bets."

"I'm sorry."

She pushes me all the way down until my head remains on the pillow and my back is flat on the mattress. I squeeze her hand, pulling it over to my chest. I pull her closer but she looks so reluctant, it almost scares me. I grab her, trying to keep her closer. Her face is just as scared as the moment she woke up.

"I'm okay," I promise her. "Please come here."

"I can't."

"Please. I need you, Betty."

She sighs and then nods, resting her head on my shoulder and keeping her arm around me. I put my arm on hers too, letting us snuggle as close as we can. The pain is terrifying but having her here close to me makes me feel just a little bit better.

"I'm not going anywhere, Jug," she says.

"Did something else happen in the nightmare?" I ask her when I realize that her arms are still shaking around me.

"Your dad told me that it was my fault, that I shouldn't have gotten you mixed up in any of this."

"Betty, that is ridiculous. You had nothing to do with what I did."

She nods. I know that she believes me.

"I might be hurting, Betty but you have been through a lot too."

"We should have just packed our things and left, Jug. We could move anywhere we want. We could start over there, live together, wake up together, be safe from black hoods or riots or Jason Blossoms'. We could be ourselves away from all of that," she says. I can almost hear the smile in her voice. She wants that so badly.

"I know, Betty. It would mean the world to me too," I agree. "We will get that one day. Let's finish high school first."

She chuckles and though it hurts my ribs, I don't care. I want to hear her beautiful laugh. It makes me feel safe.

"Maybe," I agree. "Go back to sleep, Betty. I'm not going anywhere."

"Maybe I'll dream about leaving this place and living far away with you," she says. I squeeze her and close my eyes, leaning my head against hers.

"Me too."


	25. Panic Attacks beginning season 2

**Jughead sneaking into Betty's Room while staying at Archie's. This is where he is staying with Archie instead of in the trailer. He is worried about his father, who is still in jail. Beginning of season 2.**

When I wake up for the second time that night, I decide to be done. I can't handle this anymore. I am too scared to face it alone. I look over and see Archie still fast asleep, drooling on his arm with his head practically falling off of the mattress. I roll my eyes before putting my pants and shoes on. They are messy and not quite right but it's good enough. I think about telling him but decide not to. I pick up the pen on his nightstand and unfold a napkin on the floor.

 _I'm fine. Don't worry about me._

I open his window and swing my legs over the side. I shimmy down the side before I miss my footing. I am just feet from the ground. I reach my arm around the pole but it's too late and too slippery. I fall on the ground with a thud on my back. I gasp and put my hand on the back of my head. It throbs for a few seconds before going away. I am not bleeding and nothing is terribly injured. I stand up and then I realize I am good enough to keep going. I pull the latter over to her window and make sure it is steady before I start climbing.

I knock on her window a few times before I hear her moving around her room. I am probably scaring her to death. I knock again before she comes to the window, opening it up and looking tired but relieved that it's me.

"Hey," I say.

"Hi? What are you doing here?" she asks with confusion. I shrug. I don't want to tell her every reason that I am here just yet. I am afraid that if I do, I am going to throw myself into a long and hard panic attack that might never end. My hands are already shaking so bad, I don't know how long I can last on this latter.

"Can I come in?" I ask.

"Yeah but…tomorrow you have to pretend like you came over here early for homework or something, okay?" she asks.

I nod.

She moves out of my way, holding her hand out and letting me climb into her window. I keep a hold on her hand as I enter her room. She drops it, igniting so much fear in my chest that I am not sure how much longer I can survive this. She closes the window and then turns around to me. The room is dark. The only light that is coming in is from the window behind us. The moon is full. The stars are out. We are illuminated by the night sky. But it is still dark enough that I am afraid of the eeriness.

"What's up, Jug?" she asks.

"I don't know…everything I guess," I admit.

She steps forward and holds her hand out. I take it so that we can hold onto something in all of this darkness. She stares into my eyes for a long time. I try to remember if I am okay or how to be okay.

"Why did you come over here then? Is something wrong, Jug?" she asks again. I realize that I came over here because I wanted her comfort. I wanted her to comfort me. I wanted to tell her everything. That is why I came here. I didn't realize how hard it would be to actually get the words out of my mouth.

"I'm sorry," I say. "It's just hard."

"It's okay," she says, stepping forward. "Come here."

Betty pulls me toward her bed. I slip out of my shoes and watch as she opens the blankets, laying down and waiting for me. I pull my jeans off and climb into the bed with her. I rest my head on one of her soft pillows. We lay there together, staring at the lines of the other's face in the dark.

"I'm scared," I admit.

"Of what?"

"Everything," I say, clutching my hands together. She realizes what I am doing and grabs them, pulling them toward her chest. She holds them there, squeezing me and kissing my fingers. At least I can take a small amount of comfort in that.

"My dad could go to jail for forty years. He wouldn't make it in there that long. If he did, he would be different when he came out. Cheryl and their family hate me. They always will. I don't know what's going to happen to me in school now that everything went down with my dad. Archie is going crazy. He thinks I don't know but it was the first night that he slept in his bed for a while. I'm so tired of feeling…"

"Alone?" she asks.

I nod.

I don't even know what it is but it is overwhelming.

"Everything hurts, Bets. All the time. I am just so scared of everything looming over me. There is nothing that I can do to stop any of this. I know it's stupid but it all sounds like the end of the world."

My breathing is becoming worse and harsher. I am realizing that I am losing that battle. I breathe hard. My chest is hurting. My body is aching. My legs are shaking. my insides feel as if they are going to eat my body and I am going to wisp away until I am nothing at all. That fear has me shaking like a leaf.

"Jug?" she asks.

"Betty," I say back. But it isn't good enough. It is not what I want. I feel pressure behind my eyes. I feel force behind that feeling. There is a shaking breath. Then there is another one. They are starting to link together now so that I cannot remember how to inhale. I breathe out again and there it comes. The pain.

The anguish. The agony.

"I love you," she whispers.

I can't respond.

"What's going on, Jug?" she demands.

I can't respond. My mouth just won't move. My eyes are hurting so bad that I cannot win this battle. The tears come and they fall down my face. The tears fall from my eyes onto my cheeks. I feel stupid but I don't even care. Everything is coming at me all at once and it hurts so badly.

"Come here," she says.

I lean toward her but then I get what she means. Betty puts her hand out to me and then encircles me in her arms. I rest my head on her breast and shoulder. She wraps me in her arms. We hold each other there for a long time when the real pain comes and I feel nothing but fear and agony.

"You're okay," she says.

I want to believe her. The pain comes so hard that I can feel it in my entire body. My chest and my arms and my legs and my gut. Oh god my gut hurts. I let us both hold onto each other. It makes me feel almost okay again. It makes me feel as if at least I do not have to be alone in my pain.

She continues to whisper things to me that make me feel a little better than before. I listen to all of them and soon I am finding myself breathing almost normally. The tears stop and I feel nothing but safe in her arms.

"It's okay to feel overwhelmed," she says. "it's okay to panic. It was right of you to come to me when you felt that. I never want you to feel as if I can't solve your problems. I am always right here."

"Thank you, Betty," I whisper to her. I clear my throat and then rest my head back on the pillow. She traces her hand down my face and then down my shoulder. I let her do this, closing my eyes as she continues to trace her fingers along my body. I let the peace wash over my body as I accept the feeling.

"Don't thank me, Juggie. Everything is okay now. Stay here tonight," she insists. I wasn't going to argue any other way.

"Let me hold you," I ask.

I open by arms to her and she climbs into them. She rests her head on my chest so that our arms can encircle each other. Her leg wraps around my waist. I pull her hair from her ponytail so that it falls along her shoulders. We lay down together like this for a while before I realize that I really will fall asleep.

"Bets, if I have a nightmare or wake up all weird…just tell me to go back to sleep. I am sure it can get annoying," I tell her.

"No, Juggie," she says. "I'm going to help you. You don't deserve to feel that. You'll be alright here with me."

"Maybe," I say.

"You will. None of that other pain can touch you here. Trust me."

"I don't know much these days, Betty. But I do know that I can trust you," I assure, squeezing her a little tighter.

"Goodnight, Juggie."

That is the first time in weeks that I sleep through the night.


	26. Jughead Talking about his Parents

**Jug tells Betty about the phone call he had with his mom when she did not allow him to come visit them. Between Season one and two.**

I pull Betty a little closer to my side as my mind wonders to the thought of Jellybean growing up without me. I got a call this morning from Mom. She said that she finally passed that GED test. Jellybean is so proud of her. I got to talk to her for a few seconds. She seems so different…so much older. That scares me. She was a child when she left me here alone with our dad. Why didn't Mom take me too? Why didn't she insist I go instead of leaving me here to be homeless for months at a time? I try not to blame her. She got left with two kids and a dead-beat husband. I don't understand it, but I try to sympathize with it.

"Jug?" Betty asks.

I hadn't even realized she was awake. She leans up on my bare chest, dancing her finger around. It tickles but I don't move. I want to her to stay close to me. she smiles as she traces her finger down my face and lets it twirl into my hair.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"You're trembling," she says. I hadn't noticed I was. She puts her arm around my waist as she looks into my eyes. I can't deny that perfectly honest expression. I put my arm on her side, drawing patterns on her bare skin. I love the vulnerable way her skin is exposed from the lack of bra. We might not have gone all the way yet but taking our tops off has been the latest. Plus, holding her like this makes me feel safe.

"Should we, uh, put our clothes back on?" I ask with a smile. She shakes her head but does not get the joke as well as I do. "I mean, I would hate for your mom to catch us like this. That would be one hell of a story."

"Jug," she says with that look that tells me I am in trouble. I kiss her knuckles as I hold her free hand.

"My mom won't be home for hours. Just talk to me about this…please, tell me what you're thinking," she begs. I know that I want to tell her. I know that it would be easy to say once it got out of my mouth. I can write it so well. But to say it out loud to someone that I love is terrifying. It's already making my voice shake. I have to tell her. I have to be honest with her if we are going to continue this.

"Alright," I say, taking a deep breath. "Remember when my dad first got arrested and you guys couldn't find me for a while?"

I can see her expression become fearful. Her eyes pull down at the sides and her mouth parts, as the worry becomes prominent. I want to help her. I put my hand on the side of her face. She leans into it enough for me to think I am giving her some form of comfort and not totally being a terrible boyfriend.

"I remember," she says.

"Well I went to the bus station and got a ticket to Toledo," I explain. "I called my mom. She answered and when I told her…she said that she couldn't have any company right now. She said that grandma was barely able to keep them under the same roof."

"Juggie, I am sure it was just the housing arrangements and their money might've been tight," Betty says. She is always trying to protect me from anything that might hurt. And yeah, it hurt like a bitch when my mom told me that I couldn't stay there. but she has no idea how much it hurt when she said the next part.

"It gets better, Bets," I tell her.

She waits, leaning her head forward and resting her chin on her hand as she looks at me telling the story.

"I told her I could sleep on the couch and that I wouldn't be any trouble," I say. I swallow hard and bite my lower lip when I remember my moms' voice and how she told me the next few things. I remember it all.

"Betty, she said, 'Sorry, I can't deal with your dad's crap right now.' I thought that she was just talking about him because he had tried to send me over to Toledo before because he thought I was in his way."

"That's terrible, Jug," she says. I put my hand on her head so that she has to listen to the next part and not go on about terrible it might be. I already know. I can feel the pain pushing on my chest.

"Then she told me that maybe I could just come visit them over the holidays," I say. "Then she said I would have to stay in a hotel because she doesn't think that Grandma would welcome dad back but that we could see each other. She pretended to feel bad. She pretended to be sorry that she couldn't make room for me."

I feel my voice choking up so I swallow and pause for a long moment. I keep Betty close to remind myself where I am. She puts her hand on my face again, brushing her thumbs under my cheeks and holding her body up on her elbows.

"I don't know. Maybe she was sorry. But I just felt like she was lying. I felt like she wanted to tell me that so I didn't feel bad. But I did. It hurt so bad knowing that the people that brought me into this world, didn't freaking care once I was here. They were never happy when we were kids. They were never nice. I was homeless and neither of them did anything about it when they knew they had homes I could've lived in!"

I sit up, tossing Betty to the side. I realize that I shouldn't be getting so angry about this. I stand up, feeling stupid in her pink, girly room. I stand at the edge of her plush bed in nothing but my jeans. I grab my hat from the floor and throw it over my head. She looks sympathetic as she crawls to the end of her bed and throws her legs over the side. She rests her hands on my hips as she stares up at me.

"Betty, they let me raise myself. The reason I hate my stupid birthday is because every year we would just pretend everything was fine. We would gather around that tiny table and talk about good things and eat cake, as if that even mattered. That night they assumed that jellybean and I didn't hear them fighting. But we did. One of my parents would get me a present that was too expensive and the other would complain about it. My dad would be drunk and halfway out of it and my mom would yell at him for it. This happened all night. They made a little kid hate their birthday."

I feel a stupid tear fall down my face. I blink the rest of them away. I brush them away with the back of my hand. Betty stands up and wraps her arms around my waist. I am not expecting it but I accept it even as it happens. I let her hold me there, thinking of all of the pain that they caused me. She makes me feel like it all just goes away. Maybe like it never even happened at all.

We hug for a long time and then finally, I move so that I can see her face.

"You deserve to be happy," she says.

"I am happy when I'm with you. Only you."

"You deserved better parents, Jug. You deserved better people around you. You should never have been homeless. If I would have known, I never would have let that happen," she assures.

"I know, Bets. I appreciate the selfless shelter option," I say with a small smile. Just as quickly as the pain was there, it is gone again. I hold her as close as I can to eradicate anything that might be left.

"I love you, Jughead," she says. "I would never let you be homeless. I would never let anyone hurt you. I would never neglect you. I promise, Jug."

I can't help but smile a little. I let her pull my hips toward her. we both fall on the bed. I fall on top of her and roll to my side so that I don't crush her. I wrap her in my arms and kiss her on the lips with passion as we hold each other tightly.

"I love you too," I whisper against her.


	27. bughead fight season 3

**Jughead is acting weird this season. I am not a fan of this new Jughead at all. However, this is about Betty and Jughead talking about saving Archie while he is sleeping. It's a bughead fight. Season three. Betty POV.**

I lean back against the curved wall of the bunker. Jughead does the same across from me. We stare at each other for a while. Jug is not the same person he was just a week ago. He is scaring me lately. He has this crazed look of fear on his face. He bites his lip as he plays with his fingers as his arms are draped over his knees.

"What is up with you, Jughead?" I ask.

He shrugs and then looks down at his hands again. I realize that he is not playing with his fingers. He has a die in his hand. I grab it from him and toss it across the room. He looks hurt but also very confused.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asks.

"What am I doing? Are you kidding me, Jughead?" I demand. "You have been nothing but crazy about this game. Your best friend was in jail, Jug!"

"Juvy," he corrects.

"Are you kidding? What the hell is wrong with you? Did you see him? They tortured him, Jughead! They branded him. That was on his hip. They pulled his pants down, humiliated him and then burned a mark into his skin."

"The mark will go away. The scar will be there but it'll stop hurting," he assures. I don't even know what that means. It will go away? As if that makes it any better? Our best friend was tortured and Jughead was sitting in this freaking bunker playing games with the rest of the serpents.

"Archie was tortured, Jughead! Archie was fighting these other boys in a decommissioned rec center!" I tell him. I realize that I am shouting when Archie tilts his head the other way. He just got to sleep so I should be careful. I take a deep breath and lean back against the bunker again.

"Betty, calm down. I was here with the others. You told me that you were going by yourself," he says. "So I let you go."

"Yeah, and the rest of us took your bike and broke your best friend out of jail. A few weeks ago before you went through this weird phase with playing this stupid game, maybe you would have gone with us. Hell, you probably would have even led the freaking charge. You would have created the operation. You would have brought Archie home."

He looks disappointed but he is so hard to read. His eyes are still crazed. His body language is still hunched over slightly. He is leaning toward me but I won't touch him just yet. I want him to admit what he did to our best friend. He bits his lower lip and then nods slowly, looking to me for the rest of it.

"Jughead, Archie let you stay in his room, eat his food, wear his clothes when you were homeless. He would have done anything to fight for you to stay with him. He tried so hard to make sure that you were safe and happy," I tell him.

Jug turns his head toward Archie and sniffles. I can almost see the tears gleaming in his eyes. He should feel bad. He should feel like a terrible person for ditching the one man that would have helped him over everyone else.

"When you were homeless, he gave you a home," I tell him as he stares at his sleeping friend with tears in his eyes and shaking hands at his sides.

"You're right," he mutters.

"He saved you, Jughead," I say.

He stays quiet this time as he stares at Archie.

"He was there for me when the Black Hood was talking to me. He was there for me every day before that. He was there when we broke up. He saved us over and over again. it was our turn to get him out of there. You have no idea how bad things were in there. He was hurting, probably barely eating, getting beat up, having to hurt other people and he was completely alone."

"Alright!" he shouts, turning back to me. "I get it."

"Then why wouldn't you come with us? Why wouldn't you make that the first priority of your night?" I beg.

He doesn't answer.

"You have them all twisted in your lies too. The rest of the serpents you play with are trying to follow you because you're their king. If you would just tell them the truth, that this is a bad idea and they shouldn't be playing, then maybe they will listen to you. Maybe they would have helped us."

Nothing.

I lean forward so that we are just inches apart. He looks to me with confusion. He is upset but not nearly as upset as I am about to get if he doesn't answer me. I put my hand on his knee. He looks down at it.

"Betty?" he asks.

"For God's sake, Jughead. He saved Cheryl's life. Without him, Cheryl would have killed herself and drowned in the same lake that her brother was found in. That's insane, Jug! You kept her here."

"She was welcome to leave," he says.

"No, she wasn't. They are in this so badly that when you are all together, they can't leave. They don't feel like they can leave because they are following you!"

"Betty, I am on the inside now! I am learning everything I can about this game! I am going to find the game master. I am going to talk to him and then…then I am going to catch him. he won't get away from me."

"Jughead, you sound crazy! You have no idea because this game is messing with you but you sound insane!"

"No. No. You just don't know! I am going to catch him, Betty!"

"Jughead! Our friend was dying in there and you are telling me that you here playing a game was a better option than helping him!"

"It was! It's connected now. It's all coming together!" he shouts.

Archie jumps and sits upright with a gasp. I run over to him and put my hand on his leg. I sit on the edge of his bed, as he breathes hard and deeply. He breathes calmly when he sees me and closes his eyes, leaning his head back.

"It's okay, Archie," I assure.

"You sure?" he asks.

"Yeah, Arch. Everything is okay. We're all here. We're fine," I assure him.

"Thanks, Bets," he says. I pat his hair back down and sit with him until he falls asleep. He breathes deeply and closes his eyes. I look over to Jughead. He realizes that we were too loud. I go back to sit with him.

"He's fine now," I say. "No more shouting."

He nods.

"You should get some sleep. When was the last time you slept?" I ask him. he looks confused, almost a little out of it. He almost looks as if he is considering it. I don't want him to sit here and disagree with me more. I don't even want him to be here at all. I just want him to go away so that I can take care of Archie myself.

"Go home. Just get a couple of hours, at least," I beg.

He nods and grabs his bag. I squeeze his hand before he walks out of the bunker. I look back to my sleeping best friend, thinking of all of the nights we have spent just a few feet from each other when we were kids.

"You're gonna be okay, Archie," I assure. "I'll make sure of that."


	28. Archie and Betty 03x05

**03x05. Jughead already left. Archie has a nightmare and there is no one there but Betty to care for him and talk to him about his trouble. Not a bughead scene. Betty POV.**

After just thirty minutes of sitting alone in the bunker, I find myself bored and tired. I stand up when I realize that I am going to fall asleep if I don't. I walk around and find myself looking at what Jug found. He has pictures of Featherhead's murder on the back wall. He has two challises sitting on the edge of a table. I look in them and then on the bottoms of them. They are empty. I want to hide them, get rid of them or throw them away but I know I shouldn't. He is just going to find them again.

I set them back down. I find a notebook of his and flip it open. These are Jug's words but they are so wrong. They seem like his words. They even sound like his as I whisper them to myself. But there is something so wrong about them. He isn't himself. It's almost as if he is too determined to know the person that is determining this game for so many. He is too wrapped up in the idea that he is going to meet this scary, deer-like thing in the woods. In that fact, I am scared that when the game is over, he will not be the same.

I hear a groan from the other side of the room. I turn around, grabbing my mace from my back pocket when I realize that it's just Archie. He rolls his head to the side and then his eyes clench together. His mouth becomes parted and afraid, almost as if he is in pain. I wonder if his pain still reaches him in his sleep. He groans again and then the fear gets worse. He grabs onto the side of the mattress. He breathes heavily and gasps again. He continues to do this for several seconds. I want to go over there and talk to him, tell him that it will be okay or even move him so that he might wake up. But I don't want to scare him more than he already is. He gasps and then moves onto his side. I watch as he rolls over his wound. The pain is so bad that he sits straight up and holds onto his side.

I run over to him, putting my hand on his arm. He hunches over his side, breathing heavily and keeping his head tilted down toward his chest. His fear shows me the kind of pain that only someone can feel when they are utterly alone. I sit at the edge of his bed and put my arm around him. I don't know what to say. But he has been my best friend for years. It's not as if we can't comfort each other.

"It's okay, Arch," I say.

I hear him taking deep breaths. They are harsh and shaky. I want to tell him to calm down but I decide against it. I don't want to make things worse. He breathes in again and this time bites his lower lip. I watch as tears fall down onto his hands.

"Go, Betty," he says.

"No. Absolutely not," I tell him. "Tell me what's wrong. I can help."

"Fine. Tell Jug to go," he insists as more tears fall. I squeeze my arm around his shoulder a little harder than before. I lean close to him so that he can put part of his weight on my body. His arm is still wrapped around his side.

"He's not here. It's just me," I tell him.

He sobs.

My Archie breaks down crying, his voice getting caught in his throat and his tears falling rapidly now. I hold him up as he collapses into me. I hold his weight, keeping him safe in my arms. I pat his hair down as he cries, making sure to keep him close to me. I rub circles on his back as he cries.

"Arch, you're okay," I promise.

"Betty, he held me down," he says.

"Who did?"

"The warden. I was tied down to the bed. I was shirtless and I was terrified," he says and then cries again. I try so hard not to cry. I try as hard as I can to breathe deeply and forget the pain that went on in that place. I hold him close to me again, letting him lean his head on my shoulder.

"He pulled my pants and underwear down all the way. I was asking him what he was doing and telling him to stop. But then I was naked and he took that stupid branding hot iron. He pushed it onto my hip. God, Bets." He breaks down again and sniffles, putting his hand to his face. I grab his hand and pull it back down. I tilt his face so that he has to look at me. His face is filled with terror. He is afraid. "I had to beat up this kid…he was so scrawny. And if I didn't beat him up, I was going to get punished."

"Arch, we aren't going to let them hurt you anymore," I say.

He nods but I know that he is still afraid of it. He never thought he was going to be wrapped up in some kind of underground fight club. Juvy was hard enough without them beating each other up and having to deal with gangs and a warden with no rules. I can't imagine the amount of healing that he has to do.

"Do you want me to call Veronica?" I ask.

"No," he says right away. I lean back, a little concerned but then he shakes his head and wipes his eyes. "I'm alright. I don't want her worrying. She needs to figure out how to deal with her father. It's alright. I'm better with you."

That almost makes me laugh.

"Over the summer, I'm sorry I couldn't have saved you from Juvy, Archie."

"Don't do that, Betty," he says. He puts his hand on my knee so I nod toward him. "Please don't say sorry. You did everything you could. You and my mom. You did everything that you could to save me. I took the wrong route. I thought that I was saving you guys from so much more pain. I hated seeing you there, scared that you didn't do enough or Jug scared from his trials as a kid and Ronnie…"

I nod, putting my hand to his shoulder. "I understand."

"Thank you for saving my life," he says.

I give him a small smile. "You're welcome, Archie. You'll be fine. You'll be safe here."

He nods. I help him lay back down. He is slow and it takes a long time because it hurts so much but when he is finally laying back down, I stand up again to take my place back at the front of the bunker. He grabs my hand and pulls me back. He doesn't have to say anything when I see the fear in his eyes.

"Sorry," he says. "I just haven't been very good at sleeping lately. I just don't want to be alone, if that's okay."

"You won't be. We'll all be okay now," I assure.

"Where did Jug go?" he asks.

"Long story but he's a little wrapped up in G and G. I sent him home to get some sleep. I don't like how he's been acting so weird lately."

He looks confused and almost scared. He leans forward but then gasps in pain and lays back down on the pillow and mattress beneath him.

"Are you two, okay?" he asks.

"Our relationship? Yeah. We're okay. We made this vow to stay together no matter what. But his mental state…I don't know. This game is messing with him and no matter what I do, he is still going to play it."

"What is this game anyway?" he asks. "Why does it feel like I missed so much?"

I put my hand to the side of his face and give him a small smile. It's not as if I can explain everything in the five minutes he has before he falls asleep again.

"I guess you did. We can explain everything another time. For right now, you need to heal and rest. You'll be okay if you keep drinking and sleep. You have done enough to get yourself out of there. Let us handle the rest," I assure.

"No. Betty, you guys have done everything to get me out. You guys risked getting yourselves thrown in there with me. What am I supposed to do about that? Lay around and get better? No. I have to help," he assures. But even that excitement is painful. He is wincing and grimacing the entire time. When he rests his head back, he grabs onto his side and looks to me. He is ashamed but also afraid. He really did want to help.

"Just rest, Archie. When time comes, you will help. But there is nothing to do but sleep right now."

He nods and then tilts his head to the side, as if readying for sleep but I know what he is going to ask of me.

"Betty, if I'm screaming or talking or moving around a lot, can you wake me up?" he asks. I nod. "I'm really tired of dreaming of that place."

"It'll go away soon. We'll all be here, Archie," I assure.

It is just minutes before he is asleep.


	29. Drunk Jughead, Betty Comforts

**Jughead after Betty breaks up with him via Archie. He gets drunk on the second night with the Serpents. He calls Betty and they talk but they don't make up. Betty POV.**

I lean back on my bed. Archie puts his hand on my knee. I want to look to him and ask him what I am supposed to do. Instead more tears fall. I wipe my cheeks off but it's no use. I burry my face in my hand, knowing that my make-up is shot to hell now. Archie sits next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I love Arch. I trust him. But I don't want him. I want Jug. I want him back so bad it hurts.

"Arch?" I ask.

"Yeah, Betty?"

"I can't believe I did that to him," I say again.

"Tell him. You have to tell him Betty. He's probably scared to death."

"When you were talking to him, with him…what did he do?" I ask, sitting up so that I can look at him. He reaches up to brush the tears from my cheeks as I wait eagerly for his answer. He gives me a sad expression.

"He was angry but he also didn't believe it at first. He kept telling me that it wasn't true. I had to make it pretty convincing. He was really upset, Betty."

"How?"

He looks like he's thinking for a second and then presses his lips together. When it is clear he has the thought, he puts his hand back on my knee.

"Remember when his mom took Jellybean and left? He was scared and alone. He wouldn't cry or scream. He just hated everything around him."

I nod.

"Think of that…then multiply it by ten."

I wrap my knees close to my chest and bury my face in them. He mutters an apology when he puts his arm back around my shoulders. I sob into my knees, crying as hard as I can and losing my mind as I do so. I cry harder, remembering what I told Archie to do. I said we could walk it back, that we might be okay. But that was a lie. I did the one thing that could have broken him and I didn't even know it. I don't know how I am ever going to get him back after this. He's never going to trust me again.

"You have to talk to him," Archie insists.

"He's so upset, Betty. And when Jug can't think straight, he makes stupid decisions…a lot of rash, dumb choices. Just please tell him or tell him that you love him or something. You just have to tell him something."

Before I can respond my phone rings. I sniffle, wiping my face off as I pull it out from my back pocket. There he is. His perfect smiling face with his crown hat still sitting on his head. He smiles back at me like the perfect boyfriend he was.

"It's Jug," I say, looking to Archie. He gives my shoulder a squeeze and then nods. I have to answer it. He's right.

I answer and hold the phone up to my ear, trying to forget the pain that is boiling in my chest or the nervousness that is fizzing in my belly.

"Juggie?" I answer.

"Betty…why did you do that?" he asks. His voice doesn't sound quite right. There is something wrong.

"What happened? What are you doing, Jug?" I demand.

"What happened?" he asks with sarcasm. He sounds irritated. "I should be asking you that! You're the one that sent Archie to the trailer to break up with me! You're the one that said you couldn't take it anymore through our best friend! Why would you do that to me? Didn't you know what that would do?"

"I know, Juggie. I am so sorry—"

"No! Don't call me that! You don't get to call me that after you break up with me! After you dump me!"

That is his voice but there is something so strange about it. It's slurred, almost as if he is high or drunk. But there is no way Jug is on anything. He would never let that happen. I don't care how hurt he is. He would never get near anything that his father did. He knows what that does to someone.

"Betty! Answer me!" he shouts. He would never yell at me. There has to be something else going on.

Archie is sitting still beside me, waiting for me to tell him about the conversation. I am sure he can hear how angry Jughead is sounding.

"Betty! Betty!" he yells.

I don't know what to say. I go into full panic mode, breathing heavily and closing my eyes to make the pain stop.

"Please, Bets," he says. His voice cracks at the end and tapers off, as if he's crying. Then I hear it again. He is crying. I can almost hear his tears through the phone. I want nothing more than to get up and run all the way to his house, envelop him in my arms and make the pain go away, the pain that I caused, the pain that was never meant to be caused. This is all his fault. The Black Hood. This is his fault!

"Jughead," I say.

"Betty," he says back, still crying.

"I am going to explain everything to you. I just can't tell you right now. If I do, you will be in physical danger and I can't have that. Just know that…this is not forever," I tell him. I hope that is enough.

"What does that mean? Why did you do it?"

"I promise I will tell you. You just have to be patient with me."

There is no response.

"Jug?" I ask.

I hear coughing and then a light groan. What is wrong with him? He is slurring and crying and yelling at me. He is acting so strange. I don't want to tell Archie what I think is wrong. I don't want to tell him that I think I made Jug do what his father so often did. I just can't have that thought.

"Did you know that's what my mother said?"

"What?" I ask him. He sounds like he is far away from the phone now and even more slurred than before.

"My mother! She said she couldn't deal with it anymore. She said that he was going down the wrong path and then she took my sister and my heart…and left with them! Like you! But you stole them through Archie. You made him take my heart and deliver it to you on a silver platter!"

I look to Archie with fear. I move the phone from my ear while Jughead sobs on the other side of it.

"I think he's drunk."

"No. He can't be. Not jughead," he says.

"Listen."

I put the phone on speaker.

"Jughead?" I ask.

"Why did you do that Betty?" he asks in a slurred voice. Archie's eyes go wide and his fear reaches my heart as well.

"Why did you leave me? I still needed you…I still need you, Bets. Come on. You said that you loved me. If you love me, you'll tell me. You'll stay with me and you won't…god, Betty. Why would you do that?" he demands again, sounding so broken and sad that I am in complete shock. I look to Archie but he is just as afraid as I am.

"I promise I will explain everything and it will make sense. We are going to be okay, Jug," I promise. "We are going to be fine. Where are you right now?"

"In my trailer."

I look to Archie.

"Call Toni," I mouth.

He nods and then grabs his phone, taking it out into the hallway.

"Where in your trailer are you?" I ask.

"At the table."

"Did you eat dinner or drink anything?"

"You think I'm drinking like my father used to before he got locked up! Yup! I'm drinking, Betty. I'm drinking because you hurt me and I don't know what to do. I just wanted your help and you left. I thought that you loved me…I still love you. Betty, I love you and I don't know what to do."

I take a deep breath because there are tears falling down my face now. I want to help him but I am so scared that if I tell him the truth, the Black Hood is going to attack and kill him. I just can't risk that thought. Instead, I have to make a different plan. I press my lips together, pulling myself together as I decide.

"Jughead," I say with caution. "Juggie…I need you to calm down for me. Get some water and start sipping on it. We're going to be fine. You just need some rest."

"Okay," he says.

"Go get some water and go to the back room."

I hear him moving around. I wait until the sound is clear again to speak. I look out into the hall where Archie is. He looks annoyed and throws his hands up when he sees me. I don't understand so I wait for him to come back in.

"Are you laying down?" I ask Jug.

"Yeah."

"Good. Now just sip some water and go to sleep. Don't leave the trailer the rest of the night. When you wake up, drink more water. You're going to be fine."

"What about us?" he asks.

"We're fine, Jug. We'll be fine."

I can hear his desperate voice become scared again.

"Stay until I fall asleep."

God, what have I done?

"Okay, Juggie."

I put the phone on speaker and then mute it so that he can't hear us. We can hear him moving around. Archie comes back into the room and sits on my bed. He points to the open phone.

"Toni is sending Sweet Pea over to check on him."

I lean back on my bed and Archie keeps his hand on my knee.

"I did that to him, Arch. I made him become the very thing that he hated. I have to fix this. I have to tell him what happened and then we need to hide or run or…"

"Betty, we'll be fine," Archie says. "He'll be alright. When he knows why you did it, it'll be fine. It'll all go away."

Archie sits with me in complete silence as we listen to Jughead cry himself to sleep and there was nothing either of us could do.


	30. NEW PUBLISHED BOOK

**Hello Everyone! I have just recently published my fourth book. If you like young adult fiction about teens trying to get through life, you will like my book, "My Socially Awkward Friends and I". It is about a group of people who are just trying to get through high school with some serious and mild problems of their own.**

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 **Copy and paste the link to find it!**

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 **Thank you all for reading my stories and following! If you like my fanfiction style, you will probably like my book. I appreciate your support! I really appreciate the ones who have reviewed too!**

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	31. Betty Bullied, Jughead Supporting

**Hello everyone! Thank you for your support! Don't forget to purchase my new books on**

 **My-Socially-Awkward-Friends-I/dp/1985690926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 &qid=1543891858&sr=8-1&keywords=my+socially+awkward+friends+and+i**

 **Betty and Jug talk about how he was beat up. People harass her at school. Jug stands up for her. Bughead, end of season 2. Jughead POV.**

It has only been ten minutes into our lunch shift and I have already eaten half of my burger. I start attempting to eat my fries slowly but fail. Betty has been picking at her salad the entire time we have sat here. Veronica and Archie have been trying to pretend that everything is the same. Nothing is the same. Betty just found out that her father was the one that killed our classmates. She almost died. I almost died. The ghoulies want our land. Mr. Lodge is officially insane. Cheryl has been showing up to every Serpent meeting for some strange reason. Oh, and I saw Kevin making out with Midge's ex-boyfriend in the boys bathroom this morning. So yeah, nothing is the same.

"Bets, you got to eat something," I tell her.

She looks up at me and drops her fork. She shrugs her shoulders, putting her head on her hand and staring down at the table again. I put my hand on the outside of hers, trying to pull it away. She finally lets me hold her hand.

"Please," I say.

"I'm not hungry," she says with a sad expression. Her face is pale, her skin sweating just a little. I know that she has not had the best day back in school but so far no one has confronted her with any real problems.

"Things haven't been great. But we're going to every class together and no one has—"

"Jughead," Veronica says. I turn to her. she is looking behind me. I turn around, finding two cheerleaders coming in our direction.

"What?" I ask her.

"They don't look happy," Archie says.

I turn back around again. These two cheerleaders walk toward us and stop when they see Betty. They stand right next to her but she doesn't look at them at all. She is staring at the table with her head on her hand. I reach over to put my hand on her shoulder. I squeeze her a little and then drop my hand again.

"Yeah?" Archie says, looking up to them. They look at him. they roll their eyes, almost together and then look down at Betty.

"Can we help you, Vixens?" Veronica asks. I don't want to look at them. I know why they are here. They are probably friends of Midge. They are probably here to yell at Betty or make her feel worse than she already does for something that she had nothing to do with. My poor Betty is being forced to face her father's cruelties. I just have to make sure that she does face them alone.

"We wanted to face her ourselves to see if she could really look us in the eye after she knew what her father did," the taller one asks.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask, turning around.

"Jug," Archie says, clearly warning. I stand up, shrugging my jacket to face them off. The taller girl with dark hair, pushes her chest out and raising her dark eyebrows. I have seen her dance before but am glad that I don't remember her name.

"We were Midge's friends. Her father killed her! He stabbed her. Put knives in her and then hung her body up for the town to see during a school musical. That kind of sick, disgusting behavior is only the kind that can be inherited," she says.

"I will give you one warning to turn around and walk away," I say.

"Or what? Serpent King beats up a kind, wholesome Vixen cheerleader? That's going to go well in the papers."

"I write the papers. What goes in there, is what I decide," I tell them. She seems annoyed by this, a little taken back. Her friend is obviously just here because she wanted her to be because she hasn't said a word.

They don't move.

I am starting to get very angry. I try hard not to be angry with a group of girls who do not understand what really happened in Betty's house. But they are still standing in the same place, staring down at Betty as she tries to ignore them.

"Get away from my girlfriend right now," I tell them again.

They do not move at all.

"We just want to talk to her. We want to ask her some questions."

"No."

"It's fine, Jug," Betty says behind me. I turn around and sit back down so that I can be at her level. I put my hand on hers.

"You don't need to deal with these people right now, Betty. They are just going to harass you for no reason. I can get them to leave you alone. We're just trying to eat lunch."

She shrugs.

"Whatever. It's fine."

She looks up at them, pushing her shoulders back and then staring, waiting for them to get the point across.

"What do you want?" she asks.

"We're wondering if you knew. Did you know that your father was a crazy bastard that was going to take the innocence from our town?" she asks.

Betty shakes her head and looks irritated.

"No."

I want to stand up and push these girls away. If they were serpents, I could. I could put them in their place. But they were right. It would look bad if I were the one that got into physical conflict with some cheerleaders.

"Why did he let you live? He said he wanted to cleanse the town of sin. If he wanted that, why didn't he kill you? Or your mother? Everyone knows that your mother was a Serpent. Hell, she was probably even having an affair or two while she was with him. if I were with that ugly man, I would," the taller one says.

Betty doesn't say anything.

"Hello! I am just asking. What about you? You run around with the serpents. You probably sin with that weirdo in the hat all the time," she says.

"Ladies!" Veronica shouts.

Betty smiles that sadistic smile that I know will end in violence. She grabs her jacket from across her lap and throws it over her shoulders. She smiles at them as she stands in front of the vixens in her serpent jacket.

"I'm not just running around with them. I am one of them. And yes, I do sin, probably better than you two will ever see in your lives. But no, my father did not successfully kill me." She pauses, getting a little closer to the pair, almost right against their faces, talking quietly. "While he was trying to kill my mother, I beat him over the head with a fire pick. As he laid there unconscious and bloody, I put my heel to his throat while my mother called 911. And I still managed to go back to school and act as if nothing changed."

"You're crazy," the shorter one says. It is the first time that I have heard her talk in all of this. It is strange.

"That's right. You were wondering if it's genetic? If maybe I could be just as crazy as my father…you never know. But if I'm going to start making naughty lists, you girls are right there at the top," she says.

Both of them look disturbed and afraid. They shuffle backwards, almost tripping over each other as they walk away. I lean over, putting my hand in Betty's with a proud smile on my face.

"You didn't even need my help," I say. "Next time I'll just let you handle it."


	32. Betty and the Ghoulies

**I have been getting some messages about people reading my new book. Thanks guys! I hope you all enjoy. It is on Amazon . c o m**

 **My-Socially-Awkward-Friends-I/dp/1985690926/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 &qid=1544110056&sr=8-1&keywords=my+socially+awkward+friends+and+i**

 **Betty has an encounter with the Ghoulies. During Season 3 beginning. Betty POV.**

"Sorry, Bets. I'm going to go as fast as I can. I'll just meet you there."

"Or we could be late together," I say, holding my phone to my ear. I can hear Jughead breathing on the other side. He is clearly moving around, trying to get ready when he knows he is going to be late.

"I don't want you to be late just because I will," Jug says.

"I would ask Arch to go to school but…"

"I know, Bets. He'll be fine. He'll come home soon. Just leave, Bets. I'll try to catch up with you."

"I love you," I say before he hangs up.

"I love you too."

I hang up and put my phone in my pocket before I turn the corner down the block. Right when I do, I see a group of Ghoulies. They are standing with their anarchy jackets on and baseball bats in their hands. They look angry. The tallest one with the curly hair is the one that I recognize. He walks over to me slowly, patting his hand with his baseball bat the entire time. The rest of his gang circle around him. They walk just behind him, letting the tallest member lead their way.

"Where are you going, Serpent Queen?" he asks.

I turn around and start walking the other direction. If I were going to deny my affiliation with the Serpents, it wouldn't have worked. I am wearing my jacket. Of course, today had to be the day that I decided to wear my Serpent Jacket. I put my hands in my pockets and cross the street. I walk across the side walk in the neighborhood, trying to avoid as many turns as possible. I can hear them behind me. They won't leave me alone until I am at the school. I turn to cross the street again when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Come on!" he shouts. "We just want to talk."

"Let go," I say, shrugging him off.

"So you're the new serpent Queen, huh?" he asks.

"Just get out of here. This ain't your turf," I tell him. He laughs and then looks behind him. His other buddies smile too, almost as if they are trying to make fun of my comment. But I don't care. It's true. If they really try something here, the Serpents will destroy them without asking questions.

"Turf doesn't matter much anymore. You should know that I'm tired of dealing with your spies coming on our side of town. If you think you can send spies, then so can we."

"Well if you're sending spies, you're not doing a great job. I saw you and now I'm talking to you. I think this is a failed spy operation if I've ever seen one," I say, crossing my arms over my chest. I tilt my head up and arch my back. He is much taller than me. But luckily, I had decided to look the part. My hair is out in curls around my shoulders. My unusually dark make up makes me look a little less like a north sider, the thing that they hate so much.

"Don't get mouthy with me, sweetheart. We just want to talk."

"About what?"

"Placing a queen in the pin…that king of yours keeping all of his pawns safe in Tent City, and now after we warned you, still sending spies to our camps. Back the hell off unless you want another throw down where we beat the hell out of your boy there and send the rest of you running from town," he says.

"Excuse me?" I ask.

They all look confused. But I won't let them push us around. They might have the numbers but I am not letting them come onto our side of town and tell us what to do. No. That is not how this is going to go.

"Get the hell out of my neighborhood and the hell away from my serpents," I tell them. The taller one laughs and then leans down, close to my face. I step back away from him. He tries to step closer, putting his head next to my ear. I push him away with my hands on his chest. I jump back when he stands with shock on his face. He looks surprised.

"Whoa! Serpent Queen has some muscle on her!" he says.

"Don't make me show off more muscle on you and your gang of losers. How about you leave us the hell alone and we'll leave you alone?" I ask.

"Get your spies out of my turf!" he shouts.

This sounds just as stupid as any other gang war. But I know that I have to keep this up if I am going to get him away from the rest of us. I can't have his gang infiltrating tent city and hurting our guys.

"How about this? You stay the hell away from Tent City and my guys and I will keep my spies on my side of town?" I ask.

He shrugs.

"Maybe. If you throw something in there. Keep your bitches out of our Ghoulies."

"What?" I ask.

"We're tired of separating the Ghoulies and the Serpents. We don't want your sluts. Keep them the hell out of our drugs."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Get out of here," I shout.

I turn around and start walking away again. This time I walk as fast as I can in the other direction. I actually do not know what they are talking about. I am a little worried that if I keep talking to them, they will figure out that I don't know which one of the girls are coming on their side and taking their drugs. I will have to investigate that one on my own with Jughead another time. For now, I have to get away from him.

He puts his hand on my shoulder and turns me around. I trip over my feet, stumbling. I catch myself and then punch him right in the nose. A few of his guys look angry. One or two of them are laughing but I can't tell why. He stumbles back too, confused and holding onto his now bleeding nose.

"Get out!" I scream at him.

I run. I start running the other direction, away from them and toward my school. I know it looks stupid to have a serpent running from a Ghoulie. But there are too many of them. I can't possibly attack five big dudes by myself. There is no way that I would win that fight. Plus, they have baseball bats and I have nothing.

"Come back!"

"Hey!"

"Serpent Queen!"

He tackles me. I am pushed to the ground. I put my knee as hard as I can in the crotch but he grabs my hands and pushes them down to the ground. I knee him again but another one of his friends holds me down. He pushes his knee on my hip. I scream and fight them off, pushing screaming as much as possible. I try to get them off of me but three of them are holding me down now. there is nothing I can do.

"Get away from me! Get off!" I shout.

I hear the sound of a motorcycle. Jughead.

"Get off of her!" he shouts.

The tallest one goes flying in the other direction. I grab the knife from my boot and flip it out, slashing across the hands of the man that is holding my shoulders down. He lets go right away. I roll away from them and hold my knife up. Jughead is standing not far from me with his knife out and pointing toward the tallest one.

"Get out of here," Jughead says.

"Or what?" he asks, standing up and brushing himself off from Jughead throwing him across the pavement.

I point my knife at the only one that is standing close to me. the other two are standing behind him, one of them is bleeding, holding onto his arms and looking scared but also angry. I know that this will not go well when they get backup.

"How about…get out of here or we'll kill you?" I ask with a small smirk.

The tallest one shrugs and then looks over to the others. They all nod to him, as if scared or worried that we might actually do it.

He nods and then throws his baseball bat over his shoulder. He makes them follow him, walking away from us both. I turn to Jug, wrapping my arm around his waist. He kisses the top of my head as they leave.

"Hey!" I shout.

I feel Jug's arm squeeze me a little.

The tallest one turns around.

"In case you couldn't tell, this is war," I say.

Then they are gone. I turn to Jughead. He puts his hands on either side of my face, breathing deeply and trying to calm back down. He kisses me once and then hands me my motorcycle helmet.


	33. The Phone Call

**Jughead talks to Betty on the phone after the episode tonight. Season three mid-season finale. I am ready for them to be reunited. It's gonna be a short one. Here you go:**

"We aren't going to let a wall stop us from getting back to Riverdale, are we?" I ask my dad. He shakes his head. We both hop back on our bikes.

"Just follow me, kid. That's not about to stop us from getting inside," he says. "We have people in there that need protecting."

"Let's go," I say.

Just then his phone rings. We turn around to see the guards have started to ignore us at this point. As long as we don't try to get back in, they will leave us alone. We will just have to find another way in.

He looks at the phone with a confused expression. He answers it, holding it to his head with that same hateful face.

"Who are you?" he asks.

I wait for the answer on the other side. Of course, I don't get to hear it. I just wait for him to respond again.

"Yeah, he's here," Dad says.

He pauses again. I throw my leg over my bike and sit down, holding my helmet in my lap and waiting for him to get on his bike so we can get the hell out of here. I don't think I like all of those angry police officers standing behind us.

"Hey, do you know what's going on around here? Why can't we get back into the city?" he asks.

He holds the phone out, putting it on speaker so I can hear too. I lean closer and hear Veronica on the other end. Veronica calling my dad? This is a strange day.

"My dad. He's cooked up something terrible this time. There are alarms going off everywhere. They shut down the high school. Somehow, he is causing the seizures and the game and all of this bad stuff that has been happening. Mr. Jones, you have to get in here. The apocalypse is happening."

"We'll figure it out, Veronica. Don't worry."

"One more thing," she says. "The reason I called."

"What?"

"I need to talk to Jughead."

I grab the phone from him, taking it off of speaker and holding it up to my ear. I haven't talked to Veronica in such a long time. I never thought that it mattered but hearing her voice feels good, like talking to an old friend. Everything has been so terrifyingly new recently that I can't help but feel comfort.

"Veronica?" I ask.

"Jughead? Thank god. I am so glad to hear your voice. I have been alone here and…anyway, I need you to listen very carefully," she says.

"It's good to hear your voice too, Veronica," I admit.

"It's Betty."

"Where the hell is she? She never picked up the phone."

I can hear her sigh on the other side of the phone.

"She was in the sisters of quiet mercy. Her mother put her there. She met Ethyl in there. Apparently, my father was giving fizzle rocks to the patients there as some kind of experiment," she says.

"Whoa. Wait. Betty is in the sisters?" I demand.

"Not anymore. She faked taking the fizzle rocks and somehow made the other girls trust her. She made Ethyl sober up and is now escaping with all of them and her mother."

"That's my girl," I mutter. Of course, I would be worried about her. But I almost never have a chance to be worried about her before she has the chance to fix it all for herself. I shouldn't be surprised anymore.

"Is she okay?" I ask.

"She wasn't for a while but she is now, yeah. I just wish that we would have helped her before it went this far."

"But now?" I ask.

"Now, yeah. But you have to get to her," she says.

"What do you mean?"

"She has been doing all of this alone. So have I but I don't want Betty to be alone anymore. She wants the Jughead that isn't going to talk about G and G. She wants her boyfriend, not the person that is constantly scheming. Come on, Jug."

"Okay but there is a giant barrier and men with guns. How the hell are we supposed to get inside?" I demand.

I can practically hear the Lodge smile on the other end.

"Don't you think we have a plan for that, Jones?" she demands.

I turn to my dad and raise my eyebrows.

"I'm listening."


	34. Jughead Motorcycle accident

**Jughead falls off of his motorcycle and tries to keep it from Betty. She gets upset but still decides to help him. This is after he is already a Serpent.**

I limp into the trailer and close the door behind me. I sit against the door for a long moment and lean my head against it. it's cold, which makes me feel good because the rest of my body feels too hot. It feels wrong. I close my eyes and squeeze them shut because my head is throbbing too. I put hands into fists when I feel my heart beating faster in my chest. I hate to admit that I can feel all of this at the same time. My arm is hurting. I think I am bleeding. My face is sore. My body feels like I fell off of a motorcycle and rolled across the street into a tree. Oh wait. Yeah, I did that.

Betty is going to kill me.

"Jughead!"

Speaking of Betty.

There she is. She runs over to me. She puts her hand under my shoulders and leans closer so that our bodies are almost touching. I put my arm on hers, allowing her to hold part of my weight. I push myself off of the door so that I don't scare her.

"What the hell happened?" she asks with concern, pulling me closer. She holds onto one of my hands and keeps the other arm around my body, as if she is afraid that I might fall over and she won't be able to get me back up.

"Let's get you to the couch," she says.

I shake my head.

"Why?"

"Bed," I say. "Please just help me get to the bed. My dad won't be home for a while."

She nods and helps me walk toward the bedroom. I limp but make it all the way into the room, avoiding hitting my arm on the doorway. I walk slowly, trying hard to keep anything else from hurting more than it needs to.

"Jug?" she asks.

She helps me sit down on the bed. I sit down and look over at her as she sits beside me, never taking her arm away from my waist. I lean into her, allowing her forehead to touch mine. She puts her hand to the side of my face and touches me gently. When she takes her hand away, it has blood on it. I don't know what part of my head is bleeding but I sort of want to. I adjust my hat on my head.

"Help me lay down?" I ask.

"Tell me what happened first," she says. Her face is afraid. Her body is serious and almost shaking. I didn't realize that I was really going to scare her that bad. I thought that maybe I could help her through this. But no. My entire body hurts. My head is throbbing. My eyes are sore. But more than anything else in the world, I want Betty Cooper to lay beside me and watch over me as I fall asleep.

"I fell off my motorcycle," I say.

"What? Oh my god! How did that happen? Where? Why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you have any broken bones? Jughead!" she shouts all at once, making my head hurt more. But I want to tell her the truth. I just need her to be quieter for me to do it. I put my hand to the side of her face and then back into her ponytail, trying to give her a small smile. She realizes what she is doing and calms down, breathing deeply.

"No broken bones," I say. "The Ghoulies raced past me. I thought they were just trying to scare me but then one of them veered into my lane. I veered off and then realized that I couldn't get control back of the bike. I guess, I was unstable. I fell off and rolled across the dirt into a tree."

She sighs and then helps me lay down. Betty even helps take my shoes off and sets them down on the floor beside the bed. She pulls my serpent jacket off before putting a blanket up to my waist. I give her a small smile as I lay down beside her.

"Luckily, your helmet and your jacket might have saved your life," she says with a smile.

"I know," I say.

"You have a cut on your face and road rash on your side and arm. But I guess it's not as bad as it would have been if you didn't have a jacket on at all," she says. "Why don't we clean these and then—"

"No. No, Bets. No drugs. No cleaning. No anything. I just want to relax and sleep. I was treated for other wounds before. These aren't so bad. They're just flesh wounds. They're not bleeding out of control and I'm fine."

She nods but looks reluctant. Betty tilts her head toward me, onto her side and puts her hand on my good shoulder gently. She puts her forehead against mine and comes closer to me so that her body is almost pressed against mine.

"What do you want then?" she asks.

"You. I want to lay here and sleep and stay with you."

She gives me a small smile.

"I'm worried about that," she says. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head? What if you have a concussion and we just don't know?"

I put my hand to her face and then into her hair. I tug on her ponytail before I take it out. I put my hand in her hair as she smiles back at me with a look of accusatory disappointment. But she lets me as I play with her hair for a long time. We stare at each other until I feel blood trickling onto my eye. I close it before it happens and put my hand back on my eye. When it comes away, it is bloody and my vision is blurry.

"Come here," she says.

Betty stands up and tugs on my hand. I stand up but my body is sore so I move really slowly and patiently. We walk together to the tiny bathroom. It is a small walk but to me, it feels like miles. My body is so sore I am throbbing by the time we get there. My vision is blurry and my body feels numb. I stop at the sink, putting all my weight on it as she turns the water on. I wash my face off a little but it is too hard to lean over for too long.

"Is the blood out?" she asks.

I blink a few times and then nod. She dries the blood and water from my face and then puts a bandage on my forehead where the cut must be. Once that is done, she bandages my arm, even though I really don't think that it needs it.

"Aren't you taking this a little far, nurse Betty?" I ask with a smile.

"I'm glad you got some of your humor back, Jones," she says.

"Bets, I'm really tired," I admit, leaning onto the sink. She puts her arm under my shoulders and helps me. I don't want to lean on her but my body is so sore and my brain is so wracked that I let myself lean on her.

We make it to the bed before I fall over. I lay down with her help. As she is walking away, I grab her hand.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"I didn't think that we should sleep in the same bed. Your dad isn't going to be happy about that if he comes home," she says with a shrug. But she doesn't pull away. She lets me hold onto her hand as she stands above me.

"My dad knows we're sleeping together, Bets," I say.

"Okay but—"

"Come on," I beg. "I really just want to sleep. Please, just stay with me. I don't feel well and you are the only thing that I want."

She nods with a reluctant smile and lays down beside me. she puts her arm on my chest and leans her head on my shoulder. Betty gets close to me so that our bodies are touching. I put my arm on her and intertwine our fingers. I kiss her forehead.

"I love you," she says. "I'm so glad that you're safe."

"I love you too," I say with a smile. "Thanks for taking care of me, nurse Bets."

But then I am losing consciousness and she knows it. I can barely feel her kissing my fingers and grazing her fingers along my chest before I fall asleep in my girlfriend's arms.


	35. Serpent King and Queen

**Jughead is upset about not knowing what is going on with Archie. He is upset about making decisions about his Serpents. Betty is there to comfort and talk to him. This is between tonight's episode, Season 3.**

"Jughead?" I hear at the bedroom door. It's Betty. But honestly, I don't want to talk to anyone. I just want to be alone. I want to sit at the end of the world with my feet over the edge and watch the sunrise. I want to be so alone that nothing and no one in the world can find me. But I know I am not going to get that luxury.

"Juggie?" she asks.

I want to melt at the sound of her perfect voice calling to me. I go to the door and open it with the washcloth still on my forehead. I keep my hand on my forehead as I stare at her, not even mustering enough energy to smile.

"What's wrong?" she asks right away, knowing that something is. I don't want to talk about it. instead, I lay back on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. Betty closes the door behind her and sits down beside me, putting her hand on my chest and playing with my hair under my beanie.

"Why don't we take this off?" she asks with a small smile. I feel a familiar comforting sensation I haven't felt in a long time.

I nod to her. she takes off my hat and sets it on the table beside us. My head is throbbing with stress and pain. I take her hand and put it to the side of my face, letting her comfort me in whatever way she desires.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

I realize that I haven't spoken since she came in here. I am so tired of being the one in charge all the time. I like leading my people. But I never thought that I was going to hurt this much, make these many bad decisions and have to sacrifice my normalcy.

"I want to be their leader. I want to do right by them but they keep choosing the wrong thing. They make bad decisions. It's hard to lead the Serpents when they turn to crime and hate," I say. I lean back on the pillows. Betty leans toward me, putting her hand in my hair and grazing her perfect fingers through it. it soothes me in a very small way. But it is a small enough comfort that I am able to remember that we will get back to normal one day if we work hard enough.

"We will. We can do right by them," she says. "You just have to let me help you. Don't make all the decisions without your queen and I can learn to make them with you. We can help each other, Jug. We don't have to rule alone."

She is right. I don't want to rule alone. I want her to help me. I want her to make decisions for me so that I don't have to hold all of these burdens and responsibilities by myself. If she can do that, maybe we can make the right decision together.

"Talk to me," she says.

She's right.

"I'm scared that I'm losing them, Betty. That I am losing the people that I swore to protect. Cheryl is being a complete bitch and not at all reasonable. I never wanted her in the Serpents but she was a huge asset."

"Alright," she says with a shrug, as if she is thinking. I want her to solve this for me. My head is throbbing again. "I think we should give her the option of coming back in. tell her no more stealing or breaking the law. Go the clean way or she's out for good. Give her a chance to make up what she did."

"And for the others?" I ask.

"The same."

"What do you suggest?" I ask, leaning onto my elbows. She drops the arm from my hair and rests her hands on my chest.

"We need to know what's going on from the inside, right?" she asks with a grin, almost as if she is getting one of those amazingly famous Betty Cooper ideas that seem to solve the world's problems, if only for a moment.

"Yeah," I say as I try to follow her along with her idea.

"Fangs really wants back in. He is a good guy with some bad problems and decisions. He needs our help. We can't turn our backs on him. So we should give him a chance to prove himself and get back on our good side."

"Yeah," I say. "But how?"

"We need an inside man. We want to know what Hiram is doing with that gang of his. So I say we tell Fangs that he has to join the gang, pretend to be in it for real and then report back to us," she says. "That solves a lot of problems with one solution."

She is smiling as if she has had a great idea. She's right. We should make them help us. I am not sure how I am going to do that but I have to do it. There is just one problem.

"You think that I got sucked into the game. What if he were inside so far that he forgets the real plan? What if he forgets us and turns on us? Starts giving them information about the Serpents? We couldn't have that. We are already losing this war for Riverdale as it is," I tell her and lay back down with my arm over my face.

Betty puts her hand on my chest.

"That won't happen. We will watch him, check on him and he'll be just fine. He'll help us and we'll bring one of our loyal members back into the gang," she says with a smile.

"You're right."

There is a long moment where we both sit staring at each other. I reach my hand up to her. I put my hand behind her head and pull her close to me. She leans down, kissing my lips and putting her leg over mine. She kisses me a few more times, keeping her body on mine. I pull her over until she is under me and we are kissing longer and harder.

"Wait," I say when my head throbs with yet another question of loyalty that is just looming over my body.

"What?" she asks.

"What about Cheryl and Toni? They don't deserve to be out. Toni is one of the last Serpents by blood. I can't just kick her out and not give her a chance to come back in. I need a reason to let her back in, and we both know that if she is back in, she'll drag her red-hot girlfriend with her." I roll my eyes and realize how much pain I am causing myself. "Those two are causing me more trouble than they are worth."

"They're our friends. Maybe they will respond better to me than to you. Maybe I can help with them, convince them to help the Serpents and let them back in."

"That would be great," I say.

"For now, you need some sleep."

"How am I supposed to sleep when the man in black is basically taking my home town, my best friend is god knows where and my girlfriend was in trouble for the last couple of weeks without my knowledge?" I ask.

She lays beside me with her hands on my chest and her face close enough to kiss. Instead of kissing, she just stares at me.

"I'm safe now. I got out of there just fine on my own. You were busy keeping our best friend safe. He'll be fine out there for a while before we know that he won't get hurt bringing him back here. Hiram isn't doing anything right now anyway. For just a few hours, I need you to sleep," she says.

I know she is right.

I let myself close my eyes and drift off with the faint feeling of Be


	36. Bughead 03x10

**Jughead calls Betty and asks her to meet him because he wants to talk about the things that have happened. This is right after the end of episode 10 in season 3.**

 **Enjoy! Please review!**

 **Don't forget to read and review my book: My Socially Awkward Friends and I on Amazon . c o m**

I get no more than five seconds alone before I pull my phone out and call Betty. She answers on the second ring, sounding erratic and confused.

"Bets?" I ask. I need to hear her voice. I need her sanity in these last moments of utter misperception.

"What is it, Jug? I'm, uh, a little busy here," she says. She sounds quiet, almost as if she is far away from something. Maybe even far away from me.

"What are you doing? Where are you?" I ask her.

"I'm visiting someone. I'm…what do you need, Jughead?" she asks. She almost sounds as if she is annoyed. I can't have her being annoyed at me when I need her help. There is too much going on for me to be alone in this.

"Where are you? Why do you sound quiet?" I ask.

I put the pieces together like the simplest of first grade puzzles. She is being quiet, not as if she does not want someone to hear her. It is almost as if the phone is breaking up. I can hear her but it sounds far away, like it is in a tunnel.

She doesn't want to tell me where she is. She isn't answering me. She is trying to avoid all of my questions and she doesn't want to be on the phone.

"Tell me you aren't where you are," I say.

"Jug," she argues.

"Betty Cooper get the hell home right now," I beg.

"Jug. I promise I'm safe."

I don't care what she says about that. I don't believe that she is safe. If she is really visiting that devil of a man, I do not believe that she could ever be safe with him. Why would she be talking to him again?

"Betty, please. I need you to come back to the trailer," I say.

"Why? What's wrong?"

I can't hold back this frustration and anger. I want to tell her the entire truth of what I am thinking but I won't break like that over the phone. I just want her to come home so we can work this out together.

"What's wrong is that the Serpents are having a party and we just got a bomb dropped on us bigger than Hiroshima. So I need you to get over here and be a Serpent Queen for the night." I realize how terrible I sound. I run my hand down my face and sit at the edge of my couch. I can still hear the sound of the music and the shouting outside of my door. They are all having the time of their lives. I am still trying to figure out what the hell I am going to do with them. "Please," I add.

"Juggie," she says, almost as if whispering. "What's wrong?"

"My dad is the new Sheriff," I say.

There is silence.

"What? How?" she asks.

"Ask him. I have no idea. But I think they are all covering for something again. they know each other too well. He is working with someone on this. He didn't get it on his own. But he won't talk about it yet. He said he wants us to enjoy the party," I explain.

"Alright. I'll be there soon," she says.

"Wait," I say.

She doesn't say anything. I wonder if she hung up.

"Betty?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you with your dad?" I ask.

"Yes."

I hang up.

I don't have to wait long before Betty arrives to the trailer. By the time she does, my shoes are off and my hat is sitting on the couch beside me. I have leaned myself back far enough that my head is resting on the back when I hear her.

"Jug?" she asks. "What's up with the party?"

I turn my head to her. My eyes are throbbing, though there is no light in the trailer at the moment. I don't move. She walks over to me and sits down at the edge of the couch, putting her hand to my warm head. I have been thinking too god damn much lately.

"Oh, Fangs and Sweet Pea killed Tall-Boy. So I threw a party to make sure that they would act cool and that no one suspected anything," I say.

"What?" she asks.

I just nod.

"What else happened?"

"My dad's the sheriff."

She nods, as if waiting.

"Hyrum was shot. I hope he dies but with our luck, he'll survive. I have no idea how my dad got this position. Archie is going insane. You are talking to your dad for some god forsaken reason and I am here…trying to clean up a dead body," I say and then give myself a short but terrible laugh. "Like father like son, I guess."

"Oh and Penelope Blossom is pretending to be my mom so she can get sex visits at the prison. My real mom, however, gave all of my funds to the farm and now they are residing in what used to be the Sisters of Quiet Mercy."

"Play on," I mumble to myself, letting my head fall back against the couch once more.

"What do we do?" she asks.

"Right now?" I ask myself. I sit up and look out the window. The party has continued to play on. "Later, I am going to consider letting Toni and Cheryl back into the Serpents on a conditional basis. Then I am going to get to the bottom of this thing with my dad. I am going to pray that the man in black dies. I am going to try to get Archie to focus back on what is going on in Riverdale."

She leans forward, close to me so that her arm drapes over my back and plays with my hair under my hat. I let her, smiling a little bit more every moment that she does it. it is so calming, I almost fall asleep.

"What about right now?" she asks.

"Right now?" I ask again. she nods.

"Right now, we're going to have a party of our own," I say.

I grab her leg and pull her close to me. She rests her thigh on the other side of me so I can hold my hands against her back. We kiss for a long moment before we stare into each other's eyes.

"Archie told me that he and V broke up," she says.

"What?"

"Yeah. They're done."

"God, Bets. Everything is so weird right now. I don't know what to do about all of that on the outside," I say. "But I know that right now, I don't want to think about any of it. We promised that when dark times come, we wouldn't push each other away."

"We won't," she promises. I trust her. I trust that.

"I love you," I say.

"I love you too."

I put my hands on her back as I pull her shirt off, sealing our passion with a deep and long lasting kiss.


	37. Bughead and Jug's Family

**Well…I don't like where the show is going with Choni. It would have been better if they just got back into the Serpents where they belong. But hey, Bughead is still alive so, so is this fanfiction. This is about mid-season three after Jughead's mother and sister come home.**

I knock on her window a few times. Betty walks over with a smile on her face when she sees me. Her face lights up like a pink Christmas tree when she sees me. She opens the window and backs up so that she can let me get into her room. When I am, I grab her arms and pull her close to me in a tight hug.

I haven't been able to stop smiling since my mom came home. Jellybean and my mom home again…this is so intense it feels like it is going to illuminate my entire world over again. I feel like a kid living in that trailer. I feel like my parents are back together and my little sister and I can go play outside in the mud. I feel like my life might be a glimpse of what it was when we were kids. But then again, most of it wasn't good. Most of it was pretty bad. Most of the time my parents were yelling, my dad was drunk, my mother was making secret deals and my sister was getting into trouble.

And me?

I was the loner. I didn't fit in. I didn't want to fit in and I never tried to fit in. but that just made my life more difficult.

"What's all this about?" Betty asks with that perfect smile on her face. The one that is so happy I can tell she is elated. She is happy because I'm happy and I am because she is. We share in each other's joy and triumph just as we share in sorrow and sadness. I keep my hands on her waist as I pull her close, kissing her lips once. She kisses me back but tries to pull away a little bit.

"It's about everything, Bets," I say, pulling away so that I can see her beautiful face. I grace my hand down her hair into her ponytail where I start playing with it, twirling it around my fingers in my hand.

"My mom came back!"

"What?" she asks. The smile drops. Her face looks more confused and concerned than any happiness that she has felt the entire time we've been standing in her room.

"My mom came back! My mom and Jellybean. They're both here. Mom said she is here to stay. She says she doesn't want to leave. She wants to stay. She even called the trailer…their home," I tell her all at once.

"Jughead, are you sure? I mean, this sounds like a lot at one time," she says, almost as if she doesn't really believe it. I step back from her. I don't want bad news. I do not need her to doubt my family when they are finally coming together. I thought that she would be happy for me. I thought that she would want this for me.

"What are you talking about?" I demand.

"I mean…I don't want to say that I'm doubting your mother's intentions, but you told me that you have no idea what happened to Penny after your mother was done with her. What if she killed that girl and she's running from her crimes? You said that you haven't seen your mother and when you did, she said she was on the steady but she wasn't. She was dealing car parts and stealing from innocent people. Jug…I don't want you to put full trust and hope into this if it's just going to blow up in your face," she says.

I fall back on her bed. I sit down and put my hands in my lap, looking down at the floor. Thoughts rush through my head so fast and hard that I can't actually decipher any one of them. I am so annoyed with every thought in my head that I can't pick one to be sure about. Instead, I look for help. I look up and find Betty standing with her pink milkshake pajama's on. She puts her hands on my shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I ask her.

"I didn't mean to scare you," she says.

I know that she is not trying to make this worse for me. Betty always wants the best for me. But she doesn't want me to fall into another one of my parent's traps. They always fight and hate each other. They always have ways to destroy good things.

"What do you think your mom did with Penny?" she asks. "Honestly."

I don't have to think about that one. There is one answer to that question that anyone could answer if they knew my mother well enough.

"She killed her. I know she did. I don't want to believe this is just a reason to get out of town for a while," I admit. "I want them to be here because they want to be here."

"I know," she says, putting her hands on my hat. She slowly puts her hands under my hat until she pushes it off and tosses it on the bed beside us.

"You only take my hat off when you want to have sex," I say with a smile.

She puts her legs on either side of my hips. She pushes her hips toward me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her neck a few times. It distracts me from everything that is going on. I haven't been a part of it lately. I have been watching on the sidelines with Betty. But both of us have been annoyingly aware.

"Bets," I say.

She pulls back a little to look at my face.

"What about Cheryl and Toni?" I ask. "I was working on a plan to get them back in the Serpents and they go and make some lame ass all female gang. They should've just earned their way back in and now I don't know what to do."

"We can't do anything about that now. They made their choice. Toni could have come back to us, try to get back in. But she didn't because Cheryl has her wrapped around her painted-red finger," Betty says with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Oh and let's just talk about the fact that all of our parents called us at the same time because they thought they were going to solve everything by playing the game again?" I demand.

"This game is messing with everyone's heads. I hope you aren't playing anymore," she says with honest concern. I shake my head. I sort of want to play again but I won't because I have seen what it does to people years after they play it.

"If I can solve this without playing, I won't. But no…I haven't played in a long time. Honestly, with everything going on right now, it's scaring me. We still don't know who the real King is and we have no idea what to do about any of this," I say.

"What if we just decide not to worry about that?" she asks. "We can't decide what our parents do. We can't solve the question of who the King is right this very second. Yes, your sister and mother are back. We don't trust it yet. But I want you to enjoy some time with them. Try to enjoy what you can."

I know exactly where she is going with this.

I play with her hair, twist her hair around in my hand. I find my fingers at her ponytail, pulling it out and tossing it on the floor. She shakes her head as I rush her hair around her shoulders and back. She smiles, leaning her body close to mine.

"You only take my hair out when you want to have sex with me," she says with that sly smile that tells me she wants me too.

"Well then I guess I want to," I admit.

"I guess I do too."

"We worry about the rest later?" I ask.

She nods. We kiss for several seconds. I lose myself in her body, rolling her onto her back and holding her down. I kiss down her neck, pull her pants off as she tears my shirt from my body. I put my hands under her body to squeeze her sides.

"Wait," she says.

"Yeah?"

"Where do your parents think you are right now?" she asks with a smile.

"My mom and JB are taking the bed so my dad was sleeping on the pull out. I didn't want to crash there with him or stay in tent city cause it's so freaking cold. I just deciding to come here. It's cool if I stay here for a while, right?"

"Cool?" she asks with a laugh. "Yeah, Juggie. It's more than okay."


	38. Bughead Car Accident 1

**Jughead and Betty are in a car accident. Yes, this is actually an AU! Not too much is going on with them in the show right now so I just wanted to add a little bit of romance and hurt/comfort. Enjoy!**

 **Jughead POV. Part One.**

I wake to a dark night. The sky sparkles with white stars above my head. Then I realize some of those starts are pink, or maybe red. I blink my eyes a few times, realizing that my head is throbbing in pain. I put my hands to my face moving my hair from my eyes and realize that there is blood on me. Why am I bleeding?

I start to move, sitting up and looking at the sea of glass that is coating the black ground. Pavement. I am still in the road. I roll over and push my bike to the side. It's totaled. I don't know what to do. My head hurts so bad I can hardly see. I push myself up to see blood surrounding my lower leg. I reach down to touch it and see a large piece of glass sticking out. How did that happen? My head feels heavy. Not just the regular kind of heavy with a helmet.

A helmet.

Mine is still on. But why does my head hurt? My ribs are throbbing too. I lean back, looking around me. Someone pulled out in front of us. Someone ran a red light and ran right into us. They ran into us on purpose. They tried to kill us. The car is gone. But from the amount of glass on the ground, I am guessing they did not leave unscathed.

Us.

Betty.

Oh god, Bets.

"Betty! Betty!" I shout.

My voice hurts too. My throat aches and feels as if I have not swallowed in years. I push myself up to stand. I stumble a little, feeling off. My head is still heavy. I pull my helmet off and let it fall to the ground. My arms cannot hold up that much weight. I feel so weak I can hardly breathe without pain shooting through my ribs and into my chest cavity.

When I see her, I scream for her.

I can't run. But I can make it to her. She is laying on the ground with one leg draped over the other. I can see her back from here. Her Serpents jacket is still on. One of her black boots is off and her toes are bloody. I can see a little bit of blood in her beautiful blonde hair already. Panic hits me like a social services worker showing up at my double wide. All at once I realize everything I know is about to change.

"Betty!" I shout again. She doesn't move. She doesn't even respond. When I make it to her, it's just like the moment they took us away. I was waiting for that terrible punch to the gut feeling. There it is. More excruciating than being ripped from my mother or watching my father down a keg as I am being yanked away.

"Betty, come on. Please, Bets. I need you," I beg.

I drop to my knees, not caring that they feel like they are shattering underneath of my body all at once. I put my hands on her shoulder. I turn her over gently and slowly. She is out cold. I have never seen my hands shake so bad before. I put my hand under her chin where I can feel the thumping of her heart.

Thank god. I don't believe in god. But in this moment, I would consider converting.

"Betty," I whisper to her as I sit above her cold unconscious body. Her hair is bloody. Her face has blood running down the side but it's not moving. Maybe that is a good thing. Maybe she is not bleeding anymore. I look down at her body. Her leg is still twisted. Why is her leg still twisted? I reach down to touch it and realize that there is a large bump on the side of her shin.

Oh no.

It's broken.

Pretty bad from the looks of it.

I don't want to move it anymore so I just place it back where it was and look down at her body, searching her for a phone. She doesn't have one. It must be gone. I lift her shirt up so I can see the rest of her. No phone tucked anywhere but she does have blood and road rash underneath both of her breasts. I brush my hand against her chest when I realize just how bad that is going to hurt.

She should've had her jacket zipped up. I should have made sure she did. Maybe I shouldn't have had her out at all.

Her bike.

I lift it up to check it over. It's not going to run. I never even though to check mine. Neither of us have a way to call someone but maybe I can get her to a hospital. I go back to my bike and lift it up, attempting to get it back running. It takes three tries, but I get it. It's not totaled after all.

My ribs throb in pain as I attempt to lift Betty. My arms feel so weak and my body wants it all to end but I can't just leave her here. I have to get her somewhere. I have to get help.

"Come on, Betty. Just wake up and I can get you somewhere," I say. "Wake up! Please, wake up!"

I grab a thrown water bottle and pour it over her face she coughs but her eyes waver before opening. Finally, my beauty is looking right into my eyes. She is there and she is okay.

"Betty," I say with a smile.

"Jug…Juggie. Why? Don't cry. Don't cry, Jug," she says.

I hadn't realized it. I wipe my face off with the back of my hand and lean down to kiss her forehead. She smiles a little but it worries me. She can't feel how much pain she should be in.

"We have to get you out of here Betty. We have to go right now."


	39. Bughead Car Accident II

**Jughead has to get Betty to the hospital. What will he do?**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part II.**

"Juggie, I can't stand," she says, whispering. Her voice sounds so scared and distant that I gather her up into my arms. She leans her face toward my chest. I kiss her forehead as I think, tears running down my face and panic through my heart. My mind runs like a Stephen King novel, never stopping for a moment to take a breath.

"Juggie, I'm scared."

"I know. Me too."

I decide what I have to do. I can't have her bleeding out here on the pavement. I haven't seen any cars pass. We aren't too far from the city if we can just pass the rest of the woods, we can get to Riverdale General in a few minutes. I have to get her on my bike first. I lift the bike and make sure to push out the kick stand before grabbing Betty under her arms. Her eyes look up to me with a terrified expression.

"It's okay, my love. I'm going to lift you. Don't put weight on that bad leg. Don't look down. Just keep looking at me," I tell her.

She nods.

I grab her under her arms from behind and left with my legs. The first time, I struggle a little bit so I bend my knees further and pull her up all the way. Once she is standing, I am able to put my arm under hers and help her toward the bike.

"My leg! Jughead, my leg!" she shouts.

"I know. I'm going to help you, I promise. I just need to get you onto the bike," I tell her. I assist her as I carry most of her body weight. Though I should be the hero in this situation, I feel more like the villain, causing her more pain to suffice my needs of keeping her safe. Either way, it makes me feel terrible the longer we must go.

"Jug! I can't do this," she says as I attempt to lift her leg over the bike. I know she can. Her leg is hurt but she must get over the other side if she is going to ride with me. I consider all possible options in my head, running over them as fast as my mind will move. I come up with nothing other than what I already have.

"Come on, Bets," I encourage her.

With one final push, I am able to get her leg around the bike. She screams out in pain but then settles as I hold her weight, letting her lean on me. I carefully mount my rattled bike and allow her entire weight on my body as she leans forward. She rests her head on my back. Her arms grip me so tightly I can feel her nails digging into my chest through the leather of my jacket as we ride.

"Hold on tight," I tell her. "I won't let you fall."

To be truthful, I am more terrified than I was when CPS took Jellybean and I away. If I fall, if I can't do this, if I can't hold my ground or anything else that happens in between, I will lose her. I will lose my entire life right here all because I couldn't keep it together.

I want to asses my own injuries, knowing that I have many. My head is throbbing. My body is tired and sore. My entire being feels as if it is falling apart. My ribs ache with every breath that I take and I'm pretty sure my leg has bled through my pants. But my head is focused. My head tells me that I have to get her to the hospital.

And after all of that, it is not even the worst pain that I ever felt.

I can feel Betty shaking against my back as she grips my body so tight I may have scars after this. Finally, I am almost to the hospital, which is good because I don't know how much longer I can hold on. I am starting to lose it. My body hurts too much to hold up. I feel like I just flew off my motorcycle and bounced around the street. My arms are feeling weak. My back is sore. My legs are not strong enough to hold us both up much longer. My foot is tingling and the bottom of my leg is starting to become numb.

"Jughead, I'm losing it," she says.

"I know."

I drive faster than I have before but I am so damn scared of running off the road again, I am probably not driving as fast as I think I am. I take every turn slow and I pay attention to every car that passes by.

The hospital sign comes into my view all at once. I park at the first available space and shuffle my arm under Betty's to hold most of her weight. I carry her carefully inside, trying to rush without dragging her.

"What happened, Jug?" she asks.

"I don't know. Someone hit us and kept going. We flew off our bikes. We're at the hospital now," I tell her.

She nods, resting her head against my shoulder as I bring her inside. Our parents are going to kill us. The world is falling apart right now and we just flew off of our bikes.

"Do you think this has to do with the quarantine?" she asks.

"I don't think so."

"But—"

"It just ended two days ago, Bets. I don't know. Let's just focus on getting you okay again."

I bring her up to the front desk. The lady behind the counter looks concerned. She stands up and calls for a doctor. Within seconds we have three nurses and a doctor helping us. They bring out a stretcher for Betty and help her very carefully onto it. I lean down to kiss her.

"Do you have your ID on you?" the nurse asks.

"I don't actually know."

I check my pockets and reach for my wallet. I flip to my ID and hand her the card. She nods and then gives it back.

"And her?" she asks, gesturing toward Betty.

I reach over and put my hand in her back pocket.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"Looking for your wallet."

I look in the other pocket and end up finding it in her jacket pocket. I get out her ID. The nurse takes it and begins copying things down on a form in front of her. I look back at Betty as a doctor examines her leg. She groans in pain, arching her back. Her body is tense with pain. I brush her hair from her face and kiss her forehead.

"We're going to bring her into a room," the doctor says.

I nod.

"What about you?" Betty asks.

"We need to get Forsythe into a room as well," the nurse says.

"Jughead," I say.

"What?" she asks.

"My name is Jughead."

She nods, almost as if embarrassed which makes me feel bad. I turn back to Betty, squeezing her hand as they take her away.

"Juggie," she whispers.

"You'll be okay. They'll fix you up," I promise her. "I'll come into your room the second I'm allowed."

She nods as they take her away.

"Jughead, is it?" the nurse asks.

"Yeah?"

"Come with me please. We need to get you checked out. You appear pale. Do you have some kind of hemorrhage you are aware of?" she asks. I look down at my bleeding leg. I thought about it but I didn't want to worry Betty or get my mind off track. Now that Betty is safe, I can feel the full extent of my pain and suffering.

"Yeah. My leg. I think."

"You should sit down," she says, gesturing to a wheel chair. I shake my head, trying to walk beside her. But I stumble and she grabs my arm, leading me back down to the chair.

"Come on, Jughead. You're going to pass out. I don't want to clean you off the floor."

It's funny. I want to smile or at least give some indication that I am listening but my vision is blurring.

"On second thought, you should probably get me to that room."


	40. Bughead Car Accident III

**Jughead is taken care of. He is worried about Betty.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Car Accident III**

"Your bleeding has stopped," the nurse says as she wraps my leg. She turns to me with her face looking hopeful, content even. I still feel dizzy but less so than before.

"I have to check over your ribs," she says. "Don't move. Just tell me when it hurts."

There is one god damn doctor in this place so my nurse has to do the dirty work. I would really rather see a doctor. But I know the doc is with Betty. She needs it more than I do. She was so scared. She was in so much pain. Her leg looked terrible. She was so shaken.

"Betty," I say. "Is she okay?"

"She's your girlfriend?" she asks.

I nod.

"I don't know yet, Jughead. We'll have to see."

She puts her hands on either side of my rib cage and begins pressing on them. At first, it is uncomfortable but doesn't hurt. Once she gets toward the middle, I writhe in pain. I have no choice but to move away from her, grab her hand and attempt to rid her from me. But she stops right away and nods her head. She puts a gentle hand on the top of the place where it hurt and presses lightly.

"Still hurts," I mutter, hoping she will get the point and get off of me.

"You are bruised," she says. I can see that. I can see the purple and dark bruises on my bare rib cage and a little over into my sternum. I look over to her as she presses her lips together and backs up.

"Let's get you some pain killers and then—"

"No."

"What?" she asks.

"No pain killers. I'll be fine. I just want to get to Betty."

"Your rather loud friends are here to see you. They said they were checking on their king," she says with a disapproving look but it makes me smile. They were just being honest, maybe messing with the staff a little. I am still in a lot of pain.

"I am going to let them in here but you have to be careful. With that concussion of yours, you can't get too excited. Also, I believe at least two of those ribs are broken. I'll order an X-ray but most of our equipment is working with Betty at the moment," she says. That worries me. It sends a shock of fear and pain right through my heart. It feels more like a dagger than words. She can tell I have nothing to say but pain so she puts her hand on my shoulder. It's uncomfortable.

"I will let you know when I know anything else about her," she says. She begins to leave but then turns back to me. "I'll let your friends in."

I nod to her.

When she returns, Sweet Pea and Fangs come into the room with worried expressions.

"You okay, man?" Fangs asks.

"We worried. What the hell happened?" Sweet Pea asks.

They both crowd over me. I try to sit up but the room spins so I lay back down, closing my eyes for a second. I realize I must look worse off than I am. I don't dare move my leg. Instead of focusing on the pain, I decide to forget about it. I'll just talk to them.

"Someone hit us. Betty and I. We were riding. I saw her fly off and then I was down. When I woke up, I could barely move."

"What's wrong with you, Jones?" Sweet Pea asks.

"My ribs are broken. I have a concussion but mostly…hey, have either of you seen Betty?" I ask.

They shake their heads.

"Jones, I heard someone talking about her," he says with a solemn look on his face. Fangs looks down at the ground and then back to Sweet Pea. He nudges his friends. Sometimes I swear that talking to these two is like talking to cartoon characters.

"Fangs, speak up," I order him.

"I heard them saying she wasn't doing well. Something about an infection and pain," he says.

I nod. On the outside, I am trying to look as normal and controlled as possible. I want to relax. I want to keep calm in front of them. But I don't think I can. I bite my lower lip in hopes of calming down.

Sweet Pea puts his hand on my shoulder. I appreciate the gesture but I don't want him to comfort me. Nothing feels right when I don't know how Betty is. And every time someone tells me something else about her I think it gets worse.

"She'll pull through," Fangs says.

"Our queen is strong," Sweet Pea says.

"We better hope so."

"You should rest," Sweet Pea tell me. I agree with him. I don't feel very well either. Actually, I feel kind of sick. I lean back on the mattress as the room begins to spin again. Something's wrong. My leg hurts. Why is my leg aching so badly? It hurts down to the bone, almost as if something is in there hacking at my muscle.

"We'll see you later," Fangs says.

"Could you get the nurse for me?" I ask him.

He nods before leaving. Just as they leave, I think I might throw up. I manage to control it, calming myself down long enough for the feeling to go away. When the nurse comes in, I am still feeling terrible and off. I am scared too. There is a strange fear in my chest that won't go away.

An infection.

Pain.

She should have been okay.

I don't think this is an infection. I think whoever hit us meant to and I think they got out of the car. We were both unconscious. The man in black hates me. He has always wanted me gone. What if he decided that this time he was going to rid me of this city either way? If he killed her, I would be worth nothing here. If he killed me, I'd be out of his way.

This was his doing.

He poisoned me.

"What is it?" the nurse asks.

"I think I've been poisoned. I think we both have."

She doesn't seem to understand. I can hear her asking questions. I can even hear her trying to talk to me but I can't answer her. I feel terrible. My chest hurts. My stomach aches. I feel like I am going to throw up. This time I cannot control it. I lean over the side of the bed and retch onto the floor. It is minutes before my stomach lets up. It is in so much pain that I think I might have expelled my own guts. That amount of pain will not leave for a long time. I heave, attempting to breathe again.

"Jughead! Jug!" she is saying. "I need a doctor! Doctor!"

But I can't hear her. My head is throbbing. My stomach is lurching and suddenly, I can't breathe.


	41. Bughead Car Accident IV

**Archie visits, wanting to speak to Jughead and Betty. He and the others are getting worried and begin to demand to know what is happening to them.**

 **Archie POV.**

 **Part IV.**

"Where are they?" I demand to the first nurse I see. I have been here for ten minutes and gotten no answers. I want to scream every time I see a new person.

"Please! I am looking for my friends. I have to see them," I tell her, practically begging.

"I'm sorry. I don't know," she says with a shrug. I leave her and sit down in the waiting room. Ronnie sits beside me with her hands in her lap and her legs crossed over each other. I try to ignore her. We've broken up but right now I want her to hug me. I need her to comfort me. But I won't ask for it. Instead of feeling caring, I feel angry. I have to see them. No one can tell me where they are or how they are.

After a few minutes, I see a doctor. The only doctor that works here. I run to him, putting my hand on his shoulder as he tries to get away from me. He has a clipboard in his hands and is walking toward the nurses station.

"Where is Jughead Jones?" I ask. "Betty Cooper? They came in here together. Where are they?"

"Are you family?"

"You could say that," I say.

"You know I can't tell you unless you are," he says.

Just then Mr. Jones walks through the doors with dirt on his face in his police uniform. He finds me right away, putting his hand on my shoulder and seeing the doctor.

"My boy, is he okay? Jughead?" he asks very quickly.

The doctor rolls his eyes as he looks at me. He does not want me here but I am not leaving. I have to know what is going on.

"He's alive. He has oxygen right now and two IV's. He was poisoned. His body is still fighting it off. He will be sick for a while. He has to stay here while we monitor him. He's not out of the dog house yet," he explains.

"Poisoned?" I ask. "I thought he got hit by a car."

"He did. He was unconscious. It turns out while he was, someone poisoned him."

"And Betty?" I ask.

He doesn't answer. He just nods.

Oh god Betty.

She's poisoned too.

"Your son is between awake and asleep. He didn't authorize it but after he passed out, he woke up screaming. We had to mildly sedate him."

"From the poison?" Mr. Jones asks.

"He also has pain from his leg. It seems they poured the poison onto his wound. It was very quickly infected so thats the worst part. He has two broken ribs and a concussion. What we are worried about the most is the poison," he says.

Mr. Jones nods.

"What about his girl?" he asks.

"I can't tell you."

"Damn it! Her mother isn't coming! Her father is in prison! Her sister is on the farm. There is no one else! Tell me!" he demands.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"When she's stable, can someone see her?" I ask.

The doctor nods.

Good enough for now.

"Can we see Jughead?" Mr. Jones asks.

"Briefly, yes."

We are led to his rooms. I follow Mr. Jones until we reach his room. I wait outside as he enters. I watch Mr. Jones sit beside him, putting his hand to his son's chest, talking quietly to him.

My best friend looks awful. His face is tattered. His mouth is parted. He has oxygen on his nose and an IV in each arm. He also has some kind of tube running from under the sheets that cover him and his leg is elevated outside of them, bandaged but purple and green around the edges.

"Arch," Jug says.

I come in at the sound of his voice, trying not to feel afraid but damn, this sucks. When he sees me, I shove my hands in my pockets so he can't tell I'm shaking. I bite my lower lip too. He turns his head toward me with a small smile but it's so weak it makes my fear worse.

"Do you feel okay?" I ask.

"Not as bad as earlier," he says. "But I think they put something in my dick. It's irritating."

"It's a catheter, boy. They had to sedate you. Leave it be," Mr. Jones says with a chuckle and a glance to me. I walk closer to him but I don't want Jug to see how scared I am for them both. The doctor wasn't confident that he had done anything to prevent the infection from getting worse. It sounded so bad, like he isn't okay.

"My leg hurts like a bitch," he mumbles. His voice is quiet, almost slurred but I think that is just from what they gave him.

"It's going to," Mr. Jones says.

"Did you see Betty?" he asks.

I shake my head.

"I'm worried about her. She was so bad off. When I brought her here, I promised her I would see her but I haven't been able to yet. Archie, you have to find a way," he asks.

"How?"

"The hospital is really low staffed at night. The doctor isn't even around unless there is an emergency. If you come back then, you have to be careful but I think you could get into her room," he tells me. He's right. I'll have to. The worst they could do is throw me out. I need to see her.

"I will, Jug. I promise."

"Thanks, Arch," he says. His face goes pale and his eyes close. He scrunches up his nose and his mouth opens, as if he's going to moan in pain. He stays silent but I watch his hand grip the sheet underneath of him so tightly I wonder if he'll rip it. I reach over and put my hand on his shoulder. Mr. Jones looks surprised, like he doesn't know what to do.

"What's going on, Jug?" I ask him.

"Sometimes it's bad."

He can hardly get those words out so I don't dare ask him to say another thing. I squeeze his shoulder as he breathes through his teeth. He looks so afraid. I keep my grip on his shoulder when he arches his back a little. Now both hands are gripping the sheets. My hand is shaking so bad, I wonder if he can feel it.

"It hurts," he says.

"What does?"

"Everything. Like my whole body is burning," he admits. He turns his head to me. Even his head is shaking, his face tight with pain and some anger. "If Betty is going through this, we have to find the man who did it, and we have to kill him."

"Jug, I don't think it was a man."


	42. Bughead Car Accident V

**Archie goes in to talk to Betty. Betty POV.**

 **Part V.**

"Betty," I hear beside me. It's not Jughead. I roll my head over and see Archie with his hands in his lap, trying to reach toward me. He's shaking so badly. His face is terrified as he looks me over. Do I really look that bad? I feel that bad.

"Betty, how do you feel?" he asks.

"Not good," I mumble. I feel like I am choking on every word I speak and coughing every time I swallow. Everything hurts. My body feels like it is on fire.

"What hurts?"

"Everything. It's burning," I say but it sounds bad too. I can't even pick my hand up to touch him when he reaches over to me. He puts his hand on my shoulder. I want to reach up to him, to comfort him when I know that he is afraid for his friends. But I can't move my arms. They feel so weak, like they weigh thousands of pounds.

"That's what Jughead said too," he tells me. I look around the room and then up at the window. It's dark. It's night time. Why is he here at night? I don't ask. I decide I can't afford the effort of moving my mouth and body to get the words out.

"Is he okay?" I ask instead.

"No."

"I have to get to him." I try to sit up but I can't move. I can't make my arms hold me and I can't make my legs push me back up. My stomach muscles won't hold me up either. What's wrong with me? Why does everything feel so weak?

"No, Betty. I checked on him. Mr. Jones is with him," he tells me. That's good. At least he is not alone. And right now, I'm not either. If I could, I would smile.

"I want to see him so badly," I manage.

"I know," he says. "I'll keep checking on him. He's in a lot of pain and he wants to see you but Betty, you have to worry about getting better. He did tell me something that I think we should be considering."

"What do you mean?" I ask, suddenly curious. I can't help but jump on any chance to solve a case, especially one that is directly related to me. If this was not an accident, I have to know and I have to take down whoever did this to us.

"Did they do it for me or for Jug?" I demand.

"I think it was both. We think that someone poisoned you. The doctors don't know what it was. Jughead's leg wound was infected. They couldn't explain it until they tested his blood. He's been poisoned. They don't know what kind it is but they're trying to figure it out using anything they can. I guess they think the same thing happened to you."

"The same thing?" I ask. This is the most strange thing that I have ever heard.

"Jughead thinks that Mr. Lodge paid someone to do all of this," he says.

"Who?"

"It's poison, Betty. Take one guess."

"Penelope."

He nods. Of course. She would do anything for him and this would get both of us out of her way.

"We were the only two people who were on her about her business and about her killing all of those people. If we were out of the way, no one would have said anything," I realize. "He did this through her to get us out of the way."

"And if it didn't kill you, at least it subdued you for a while," he says. "Got you out of the way."

"Damn it!" I shout. It hurts though so I have to lay back. I rest my head on the pillow and stare up at the ceiling. My body is throbbing again, burning, practically making me writhe.

"Whoa, Betty," he says. "Calm it down. We can't do anything about it now. We have to get you and Jug better."

"The only one who knows what we have is Penelope."

He nods. He will have to find out for us. We can't figure it out without his help. We can't get out of here. We are in too much pain. We have IV's and monitors. If we leave, we won't make it. But we are always the one to solve the problems.

"You'll have to find out," I tell him.

"I know. Veronica and I are on this one," he assures. I trust him. I don't want him to have to do this but I am afraid that Jug won't make it out of this if he doesn't find out what antidote we need.

"I have to see Jughead," I say.

He nods, squeezing my shoulder. He looks down at my body and then back up at me. He presses his lips together and then his eyes light up. He puts his hand on my arm, standing up and looking me over.

"What?" I ask.

"I have an idea!"

"What?"

"I can get you there. I came here at night because no one is around. There are like two nurses on staff. If we avoid them, we can get you to Jug. It would boost both of you and make you feel better."

"How?" I demand but I can already feel my heart beating. My monitor is thumping. My entire body wants to jump up and run to his room but I can't even walk. How am I going to get there?

"I'll have to bring your IV's with you. I can put them on one of those movable poles. I can push you in a wheel chair and help you once you get to Jug. I can get you there, Betty."

I nod. I let him.

I let him get me the wheelchair. I let him hold me as he sets me in it. I try to help him but I can't hold up my own weight. I wrap my arm around him and he does the rest. He picks me up and carries me to the chair. I rest my body, hardly able to hold up my own head. He moves the IV bags from the post behind me to a portable one, never hurting the side in my arms and hand.

"Let's get you to Jug," he says.

He opens the door and we are on our way.


	43. Bughead Car Accident VI

**Betty and Jughead finally get to see each other because of Archie. They talk about what happened and what they are going to do.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Please keep reviewing. I'm loving these! So many readers!**

 **Part VI.**

The door opens.

"I said I'm fine. I just want to sleep! Leave me alone! Please," I beg, laying my head back. They bothered me all day. I have finally been alone most of the night but why would they come in now? I wipe my face off. I don't want them to know that I had been crying.

I am a king after all.

"Juggie?" I hear.

"Bets?"

I turn to her. She is in a wheel chair led by Archie. I had no idea he was going to bring her to me. She tries to stand but can't even sit herself toward the edge of her chair. I lean my arm over the side of the bed where she grabs it, kissing my fingers.

"Let me help you, Betty," Archie says. He puts his arms underneath of hers and helps carry her onto my bed. I can hardly move over but she ends up putting half of her weight on me. Her arm with IV's is further from me so I take her open arm in mine, holding onto her as tightly as I can. She rests her head on my chest. It is a welcome feeling. Having her so close to me again is like the scene in the Titanic when Jack pulls Rose back from almost falling into the sea.

You want it. You crave the other person. Now that you have them, it feels like a relief but the fear is not gone.

"Are you okay, Bets?" Archie asks.

She nods.

"I'll leave you two alone then," he says with a smile, moving the IV pole in the right spot for her.

"Thank you," I tell him.

"Yes, thank you, Archie," she says too.

"I'll be back later. Enjoy resting," he says. He opens the door and looks back at us both with that Archie smile that I welcome. I am glad to see my old friend slowly coming back to himself. I owe him help but in this moment, I am indebted to him.

"But only resting," he says with a nod and then leaves. If either of us could have the energy to laugh, we would. Instead of laughing, I manage a small smile. But when I look over to Betty, she does not have a smile at all. Her face is terrified.

"What is it?" I ask her.

"You've been crying," she says, putting her hand to my cheek. She looks into my eyes and brushes her fingers under my eyes. I nod. There is no point in hiding it.

"I've been scared," I admit.

"Of what?"

"Everything. My pain. Your pain mostly, also of what might happen to us if this keeps going."

I realize that I am scaring her when her face only becomes more worried. I rest my forehead against hers, finally able to feel her so close to me. It feels so amazing. I breathe gently, taking in her scent and the feeling of her body close. It's so calming. The only thing I really wanted was to have her back by my side.

"I missed you so badly," I tell her.

"I know. I missed you too."

"I needed you back."

"I'm right here," she says, putting her hand to my face. It does make me feel a little bit better.

"If we were sick by Penelope, I don't know how we are going to get the antidote. We could black mail her, or if we—"

"Archie and I already talked about it, Jug," she says. I don't like the sound of that but I let it go. I guess she should be thinking of a solution instead of wallowing in what happened and what we cannot change. "He is going to talk to her. We know it's her, Jug. Maybe she didn't want to kill us. Maybe she just wanted to subdue us for a while, get us out of the way so she could go on with her business."

"So Hiram could heal up," I finish for her.

She nods.

We have it all figured out. But that doesn't seem to matter when the pain comes back.

"Did you sleep at all?" she asks.

"I thought about it. I wanted to. But I didn't want to have nightmares," I admit. "Everything hurts."

"Me too."

I put my forehead against hers. I rest my arm across her body and her hand falls to my chest. Our breath mangles and our bodies shake in agony but we have each other now.

"How are we going to get out of this? We can't move," she asks.

"Archie will have to do it. He won't like it but teaming up with Veronica is the only way he is going get all the answers. And we need answers, Bets," I tell her. She does not argue. She knows that without them, our lives are at risk. I try not to scare her but I have felt like death since the moment I walked in here dragging Betty by my side. It's just gotten worse. Nothing they are doing is helping and they know it.

"If we don't find the antidote, we…"

"What?" she asks.

"Well I don't think we're going to be here very long," I tell her, squeezing her shoulder when I realize that I have scared her more than I wanted to. She buries her face in my shoulder. I pull her closer.

"I want to stay here," she says.

"The nurses are going to close and lock your door if you do that, Bets."

"No way. I won't let them."

"You can hardly stand," I say, putting my hand to the side of her face. But before a second passes, I have to drop it. This is weakness like I have never felt in my life.

"And you can hardly hold your own arms up," she says with a smile that is supposed to be cute and flirty but I know there is pain behind it. She knows that we are getting worse.

"We are always the one on the case, never the victims."

"Maybe that's why they did it," I inform. "Maybe they were tired of having us figure everything out. If the two of us were out of the way, no one would investigate anything in this town."

She nods but it's so small I can barely feel it.

"I want to stay here," she whispers.

I nod. Suddenly, I don't have the effort to tell her to go back to her room. We should probably tell Archie but he will realize it soon enough and leave us alone. Maybe he'll wake her and bring her back to her room. I don't care right now. I just want to hold Betty as I fall asleep.

I wrap my arms around her body, lean my head on hers and close my eyes. It is minutes before her warmth overtakes me, her comfort seeps into my skin and I am finally able to trust sleep.


	44. Bughead Car Accident VII

**Jughead and Betty are found together the next morning. They have to leave each other. They find out what exactly has been poisoning them.**

 **I am loving this great response to this fanfic! If you all have any other suggestions for small AU's that still fit the story, please tell!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part VII.**

I wake to a light so bright I question the existence of heaven. While I naturally am apposed to the idea of a greater beyond being, I have to consider it in the moment that I am faced with a beautiful woman, warm in my arms and a white brightness shining in my eyes.

I fall quickly back to earth when the nurse's voice breaks my supper of imagination.

"Betty! Why are you out of bed? How did you get in here?" she asks. I realize then that the angel in my arms is not here for my mere comfort but for hers as well. We are still poisoned. We are still in pain. We are still supposed to be in separate rooms. I do not question the nurse as she enters, as it is obvious she should be outraged. However, I do question how Archie allowed her to stay in here until the nurses returned. Maybe he just wanted us to have every last minute we could. It's not as if I could hide my fearful expressions or raging pain.

"I just—" Betty starts but then she knocks her head back down to the pillow and puts her hand on her head. She coughs a little bit and closes her eyes, her pain overcoming her entire body. I know what she means. But for a brief moment, I cannot think of my own. I can only see hers. I reach my arms over her body, covering her gently and leaning my head against hers.

"I just wanted to be here," she says, getting it out painfully.

"It's alright, Betty," the nurse says with some sympathy. She looks through the door and then back to the pair of us. "I just want you to be safe. How did you get in here? You can hardly sit up."

"Not important," she mutters.

"Jughead, you shouldn't have encouraged her to do this," she chastises. I am about to say something to her when Betty interrupts me.

"It was my fault. I'll go back to my room," Betty says. She pushes herself up but can't hold her position. I put my arm underneath of her as the nurse catches her weight. I realize quickly that despite my reaction, I would not have been able to hold her.

"Wait," I beg of her.

I hadn't felt pain in my heart since we broke up the last time. But this pain is so real it could be fatal. I reach my hand over to her. Betty grabs it and squeezes as hard as she can, which is practically nothing. I put my forehead against hers. Her eyes are suddenly bloodshot, red rimmed and teary. I want to beg of her not to go. I want to tell the nurse that she will be better here. In this moment we are like star crossed lovers, being literally and figuratively pulled away from our sight of affection.

"I love you," I say to her.

"I'm scared," she admits.

"I know," I tell her. I don't want to say the next two words. I don't want to agree with her. But we haven't gotten any better, only worse. Archie, Veronica and the Serpents have been looking for us but found nothing. If we're doomed, we should be together. Before I realize it, I can't control the tears that fill my own eyes. I pull my quivering lip in, making a face of complete control.

"Me too," I admit.

She leans close to kiss me. Our kiss is passionate and gross, mixed with our tears and our fear but it is so genuine, I am not sure I have had a more beautiful kiss before.

When she pulls away, it hurts.

"I will be right here and when I get better, I will come see you. I promise," I tell her. But the look on her face is not at all convinced. She knows that we don't know if we will get better. We don't even know what this is yet. She is afraid that we might never know.

"This is not goodbye," I promise her out loud. I lean in close to kiss her cheek so I can whisper in her ear. "I'll see you tonight."

At that I get a small smile.

The nurse assists her back into a wheel chair and takes her from my eyesight. The moment she is gone, my head goes into a complete panic. My eyes start to water. My body burns in a rage so painful, I call out. It is just seconds before there are two nurses scurrying toward my room. I can see them moving around me, talking to me, trying to get me to pay attention to them. But I can't.

There are IV's in my arms. There is water being placed at my lips. There is talk of calming and breathing. There is beeping going on next to my monitor. I don't focus on any of it. I don't even hear it. I am thinking of her, only of the one that I miss so badly.

Plus, my veins are on fire.

"I've figured it out! The tests came back!" someone shouts.

It is enough for me to listen to whoever is talking. When I open my eyes, I see a doctor standing at the edge of my bed.

"It's heavy medal poisoning."

"What?" I ask. "Isn't that a simple test?"

"I was waiting to see which heavy metal, as I suspected it might be something strange. It's Cadmium. I don't know how you got it into your system. It would be strange to have it in water or any liquid form but I don't know what you could have done to—"

"Someone did it on purpose. They were innovative," I admit. I rest my head down, staring up at the ceiling. "Betty too?"

"Yes. Both of you. We will help you out of this now that we know what it is, Jughead. We can treat you."

For the first time since the accident, my tears are of complete relief.


	45. Bughead Car Accident VIII

**Jughead and Betty are treated and get to go home. Jug stays with Betty.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part VIII.**

"I'm so glad to be home," I whisper to her. She nudges her head into the crook of my neck. I wrap my arm around her shoulders. I kiss her forehead, keeping her close to me all the time.

"Me too," she says.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," she says. "But I still feel so tired, so weak." I squeeze her close to me. She wraps her arm around my bare waist.

We still have a fever, both of us do. We're supposed to be watching our fevers, making sure we take cold showers if they get too bad and drink a lot of fluid. But to be honest, the only showers we take are together, and they are not exactly very calm. Actually, it takes me all of five seconds to press her chest against the wall and spread her legs. Then again, we are supposed to be resting. That's only happened twice. We've been home for sixteen hours, so I think that's pretty good for us.

"Want to watch tv?" I ask her.

"Bored of it," she says.

"Yeah me too."

"Want to read together?"

"My head hurts," she admits. Every time she tells me something is wrong, I want to take it away, to fix it. I feel like Penelope being after us was my fault. I feel like she never would have hit us if we weren't on motorcycles and those were my idea.

Her head hurts. Her body is weak. She has spurts of feeling better but it's like she isn't healing. I don't know what to do.

"Has Archie responded?" she asks.

I nod.

"He said that he's working with the serpents to get us some answers. I don't have anything right now, Bets. He said he's sure it was Penelope. He's asking Cheryl about it today. I'm sure they'll get something but to be honest, I don't know what they're going to do about it."

"The serpents could get her," she suggests.

"Jesus, Betty. We are not killing Cheryl's mother. There are two blossom's left. They can't afford to lose another one," I say, looking at her. She rolls her eyes at me, looking a little annoyed but leans back so that she can see me better.

"No. I mean, we could threaten her. Go into her house, take shit, make her angry. I think that we could—"

"Let's think about that another time, Betty," I suggest.

"What do you think we should do instead? All we have to do is sit here. We have to do something or I am going to go crazy," she admits. I know that it's true. We don't feel well enough to get up but not bad enough to just lay around.

I have one solution to that.

I lean over to her and kiss her. She kisses me back. I roll on top of her, kiss her a few times and roll my body down to hers. I grind against her hips, put my arms under her body. I lift her chest close to mine so I can kiss her neck, leaning down to kiss her breasts, pushing her tee shirt up so that I can lean down to kiss lower until I stop under her bellybutton.

"Jughead!" she says.

That is when I know I am doing the right thing. I pull her pants down easily, as they are sweatpants. I kiss her legs a few times before she grabs my hair to pull me back up to her face.

"Want to?" I ask. I don't have to finish the sentence. She nods, putting her arms around my neck. I lean my body down to hers, meeting her lips. I am about to make her mine when the phone rings.

"Are you kidding?" she chides.

I turn to the phone. It's Archie.

"Hey," I answer, trying to make my voice sound cool but I know I sound out of breath. It's stupid so I try to hold it back. I lay beside Betty, who covers her body with the sheets once again.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Sure. What's up man?"

"Other than you?" Betty whispers beside me.

I give her a look but she just smiles. It was kind of funny. I try to focus back on Archie, hoping he did not hear that.

"Penelope won't admit to it but we found it in her house. We also found that she had a whole room filled with this stuff, Jughead. You and Betty were right. She has been trying to poison people for a long time."

"Great, Arch. Take pictures of all of it. When we heal up, we'll write an article on it, tell my dad and this will all be over with," I tell him. "Thanks for doing this."

"How's Betty?"

I look over to her. Her eyes are already closed. Her head is titled to the side as if she is already about to fall asleep. Her hand is by her side too. I put my hand in hers but she doesn't hold onto it. She doesn't take my hand back. She was about ready to have sex with me and now she is asleep. What the hell is wrong?

"Something's wrong," I admit.

"What is it?" Archie asks.

"She's been acting a little worse than me, a little strange. But she's asleep. She was awake like two seconds ago and she's in a weird position. Arch, are you sure that she had that poison in her house?" I ask.

"Yes. She had a lot, Jug," he says.

I look down at Betty's arm as I realize something strange is there. I pull her arm toward me. Betty doesn't move. Her arm is red around one area, splotchy and spreading. Part of it is on her side where he arm touched. What the hell is this?

I look down at my body. I don't have any red marks. I don't have any rash. The rash is warm to the touch and pinkish in color.

"I think something else is wrong," I say.

"What is it?"

"She has a rash. A red and splotchy rash…like poison oak," I realize. It all comes to me. "It looks like when Betty had poison oak as a kid! Remember? She had to go to the hospital when she touched it in the woods. It spread all over her. They had to bring her fever down, give her some kind of antibiotics and fluids."

"Wait, Jug," Archie says. "Did the doctor say that the cadmium was out of her system?"

"No. He said it wasn't. They did some kind of test where something stuck to the metal from an IV and we peed it out. He said we had significant amounts but now we have much less and just need to stay away from it. He said we should be okay after a while."

I don't understand what he is getting at but something is wrong with Betty. I shake her. She doesn't respond.

"Betty!" I shout.

She doesn't wake up.

I check her pulse.

It's there but slow and faint.

"Archie I need to hang up."

"Why?"

"I'm calling 911. I think Betty is dying."


	46. Bughead Car Accident IX

**Betty is in the hospital again. Jughead is waiting for her. This is not exactly medically correct, (I am a combat medic and do know this, but it's for the story not for the medical experts lol).**

 **Please keep reviewing! These are great! Don't forget to read: The Summer Before Junior Year and Bughead Love (if you're into that).**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part IX.**

Someone just ripped my heart out of my chest. Someone just took it, jerked it away and then stomped all over it. I watched them do it. It was the devil himself, I think. I don't believe in devils but in this moment I am sure that he took my heart.

"We need to get her to the hospital right now," the paramedic says.

"I need to come with her."

I don't even care that he can see the fear on my face. My face feels like it's about to melt off of my body. My insides are on fire. My gut is aching like my stomach is corroding inside of me. My hands are shaking so bad I can't hold a single thing without dropping it.

"Heart rate is 52 and dropping," paramedic says.

As they move her down the stairs, I follow in tears and a head full of fear. I make my way to the ambulance, listening to them talk about the woman that I love. She won't wake up. She is still unconscious, laying in front of me, as if she is dying. I wonder if she is. That thought hurts so bad I almost throw up. I have to cover my mouth as I sit in the back of the ambulance. I put my hand on hers, squeezing her, begging her to wake up, to talk to me, to show me that she isn't dead.

"BP is 72/60. Narrowing and dropping."

"Shit! Come on!"

"Betty," I beg. "Please. Whatever this is, I need you to fight it."

By the time we are the hospital, I am a wreck, feeling like my heart is decaying, rotting in my chest. They take her away. I chase her to the room but they push me back out, telling me that I have to stay outside until she is stable.

"What's wrong with her? Please! Tell me!" I shout.

Nothing. I get no response.

She was already poisoned. What if the poison was worse than they thought? But I thought they measured it in her blood stream. Why did she get a rash? Why did she pass out? Was her fever too high? Why wasn't I checking her fever? I should have paid more attention to what was really wrong with her. But more importantly than any of that, why didn't I have the same reaction?

I have to do something. I have to get some kind of response. I have to let someone else know. I call Mrs. Cooper. She doesn't answer. I didn't think she would answer a phone call from me. She is not my biggest fan so I just text her that Betty is in the hospital and that she should come quickly.

Next I call Archie.

"Get down to the hospital right now, man," I say.

"I'm outside. I started driving when you told me. I'll be there in a second, Jug. I called Sweet Pea and your dad. Their on their way."

I can't manage to say anything. I hang up and turn around. The moment Archie comes through the door, I don't hide or hold back an inch of emotion that I had been feeling since this began. Our arms go around each other and my body gives out. He tries to hold me up, realizing that I am too weak to even stand.

"Jughead!" he shouts. "It's alright. Hey, come on man."

Tears fall down my face and fear hits my chest so hard I can't stand. I fall to the ground. Archie goes with me, sitting across from me and putting his hand on my arm. He tries to look at me but when I can't seem to remember how to breathe, he gets closer.

"Jughead," he says. "Come on, Jug. Betty needs your strength right now. Betty needs you to be her loyal knight."

"I can't, Arch."

"It's okay," he says, nodding his head. He stands, holding out his hand. I take it, letting him help me stand. He brings me over to sit down. I curl in on myself, getting as close to my own body as possible, putting my head between my knees even in the hospital chair that I sit in. Arch keeps his hand on my back. I am glad to not be alone but I still hurt so bad.

"Jughead?" a voice asks. It's a female voice but not my female. I look up because it sounds comforting but when I see Veronica, it disappoints my heart. I look to her, not hiding the tears or the pain. She looks terrified. She holds her arms out to me. I don't want to hug her but I do it anyway. It does make me feel a little less alone, at least that is better.

"Betty?" she asks.

"We don't know," I admit.

She nods and sits beside me. It is not long before Sweet Pea finds us. I talk to him about what they found but it doesn't help Betty. I thought maybe something I would hear from them would change my thoughts but nothing happens. I can't think of anything but the fact that Betty's heart rate was dropping. If she kept dropping, it would just stop and she would die. I can't imagine that thought.

Die.

Oh god.

I get up and run.

I find the nearest toilet and wretch into it. When the contents of my stomach are gone, I throw up bile and when that won't do, I dry heave. I dry heave, coughing and feeling my chest is on fire. My lungs are burning so badly, I can feel it right through my flesh.

I lean my head back against the bathroom stall, sitting on the floor in a sad state of tears and wrenching. I have no idea how long this goes on. I remember how to breathe at some point and make myself stand. My legs shake so badly and my arms tremble at my sides so much that I can barely move.

I use the sink to hold up my weight. I can't hold it up by myself. I look over to Archie as he walks through the door. He stands a couple of feet from me.

"I think you should get checked by a doctor, Jug," he says.

"No. I'm fine," I say.

"Jug, you've been in here for over twenty minutes. I don't think you have anything left in your entire body. Come on, man. You need some fluid. You still have poison in your system," he says. I shake my head, looking at my pale face in the mirror. God, I look terrible. My face is a sheet of wet ice, dripping with sweat.

"Maybe," I admit. I do feel terrible.

"Also, something about Betty," he says.

"What is it?" I ask, trying to turn to him. I try to let the sink hold up most of my weight but I feel dizzy, like he is spinning, like he is talking but I can't hear him.

Why is he so fuzzy?

"Jug?" he asks.

"Betty!" I shout. I want him to tel me about Betty but my thoughts don't make sense. They are starting to get jumbled. Then they are all twisted together at once.

"She's been re-exposed to the metal somehow. She reacted worse this time because she was already poisoned. They are working on getting it out of her now but have to find the source before they let her go."

Find the source? How was she exposed?

I was with her.

I don't feel well again. I feel sick. I feel scared. What's wrong with me? What's wrong with Betty?

"Let her go," I mumble.

"Jug?"

Then the floor makes contact with my face and all I see is a fast moving blur.


	47. Bughead Car Accident X

**Betty and Jughead are both unconscious. Archie has to find out what happened to them and what they are going to do about it.**

 **Who did it? Please guess in the comments! I will only post an update after three guesses!**

 **Archie POV.**

 **Part X.**

"Betty and Jughead are both unconscious. We can't use their expertise. We need to use our own. That means, we have to figure this out without them," I tell them. Sweet Pea nods, holding his arms over his chest. I know I can count on him to do anything I need. But the others? Veronica wasn't talking to me before right now but Betty is her best friend. Maybe she can find out if this is happening because of her dad. FP already has the serpents on getting revenge and keeping them in order with their king and queen out of commission.

"What do we do?" Sweet Pea asks.

"The gang is rilled up, Archie. I can hardly keep them from killing anyone who comes into sight. They're pissed off at everyone and they want revenge," FP adds.

I can't solve all of these problems at once. All I can think about is my friends. I don't want to avenge them right now. I don't even want to find out what really happened. I just want to be at their sides all the time and find out how to make them feel better.

"Tell the Serpents to settle down. We don't want them in the middle of this before we even figure out what this is really about."

"Any theories?" Veronica asks.

"They said that they were both re exposed to the metal after they left the hospital. They weren't even gone for an entire day. They drank a lot of water, ate some and stayed at Betty's house. They didn't leave once they got there. They have no idea how it could've gotten back into their systems but we need to find out."

"Go back to Betty's room," Sweet Pea says. "Test their water bottles."

"Good. Sweet Pea, do you want to do that?"

He nods.

"We also need to find out if it could've been something else. They were driven home by Mrs. Cooper. Maybe we could check her car?" I ask, looking around.

"I'm on, Archie," FP says.

"We found Cadmium in powder form in Penelope's house. We can't prove that she's the one who did it. But I think that there is more than one person involved. Veronica, can you investigate your dad?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes. I think I am going to lose her all over again when she folds her arms across her chest. She looks upset but then just throws her hands up.

"Sure!"

"Everyone has something to do. I'll be here with them and text everyone if anything changes," I say.

"Where has Mrs. Cooper been this entire time?" Veronica asks.

"I've been wondering that too," I say, looking to FP.

He shrugs.

"I'm just as in the dark as you kids. I'll hunt her down and check her car. She took Betty home so she couldn't have gone far after that."

Now that they are each doing something, I am back to being alone. I sit in the waiting room alone for a long time. It is hours later when the doctor comes through the doors, finding me out of the few people that are in the waiting room.

"Jughead is stable," he says.

"Stable?" I ask, standing up. I have never felt relief and happiness like this. I let a breath go and turn to his door, trying to find him but the doctor puts his hand on my arm.

"Wait."

"What?" I demand.

"He's still sick. The poison is leaving his system but we don't know why it got back there in the first place. It's like he was exposed to mass amounts in a short amount of time. We need to keep him here where he can be monitored and stay clean until we know where the source came from."

"We're working on that now," I tell him.

"Good. He's awake. He's pretty shaken about his girlfriend."

"How is Betty?"

"We're still working on her."

That's all I get. That makes me feel like someone punched me in the face. But at least I can hold onto the fact that Jughead is awake and is going to be okay if he doesn't get any more poison into his system. I am hoping that we can get them both back.

"I can see him?" I ask.

"Sure. Is his dad here?"

"He left a little while ago. I'll call him."

When the doctor leaves, that is the first thing I do. He has to know. FP picks up on the second ring.

"Archie," he says.

"Mr. Jones, Jughead is awake. They say that he has to stay here for a while and make sure all of the poison leaves his system without any side effects. But he is okay for now."

"Thank god. I'll be there soon."

"Any luck with Mrs. Cooper?" I ask.

"She was headed back to the farm. She said that Betty doesn't want her around anyway. I checked her car. She had a water bottle in there, there was some residue in the bottom."

"Oh my god. Do you think it was her own mother?" I demand. I can't believe that. If I believe that, I might have to find Mrs. Cooper and knock her out. We have enough adults against us for us to have to face our own parents and people we've known our entire lives.

"No. Alice didn't even know how those got there. They were handed to them at the hospital."

"What?"

This doesn't make sense.

The water at the house would have had to be contaminated too. If it wasn't, they would've reacted to poison earlier.

"I'll see you soon," I say.

I hang up and call Sweet Pea.

"Yeah?" he asks.

"What did you find?"

"A couple of water bottles. Downstairs there is powder by the counter and some water bottles. It is clear someone was tampering with them, almost like they didn't care if they got caught," he says.

I am putting the pieces together slowly but they are coming together. If Alice didn't do it, it would've had to be someone that she would've let in her house. If she let them in her house, it might've been a friend.

Someone from the farm.

Polly.

FP.

Me or my family.

None of these people would have any reason to poison Betty and Jughead. It was enough to get them out of commission but not to kill them the first time, as if it was to get them out of the way. But the second time, it could've killed them. We still don't know how much Betty has or if she will be okay.

Ignoring that thought, I follow it to the next one.

Then I have it.

I hang up the phone and run to Jughead's room. He looks tired and pale but glad to see me. He doesn't ask anything as I begin talking out of breath right away.

"It has to be someone Alice would've let into her house but ignored, not watched, as if she mostly trusted that person."

"Why?" he asks, leaning his head up but then thinking better of it and relaxing back on the pillow. He throws an arm around his stomach and coughs, making me scared for him. Why does he hurt?

Wait a second.

I look down at my phone, checking texts from Sweet Pea. I scroll up to find one unread.

It reads: _Back door is wide open. It could've been unlocked. Were Jug and Betty there alone?_

I text back: _Yes._

He says: _Someone poisoned this water and it was someone who was trying to kill them knowing that they had already been poisoned._

"Who would break into Alice's house?" I ask.

"I don't know," he says, putting his other hand to his head as if it hurts. I shouldn't be asking him. I should be letting him rest. This is our job to figure out anyway.

I sit down beside Jughead, letting the wheels in my head turn so quickly my brain starts to hurt.

They were first poisoned at a car crash.

We think it was to get them out of the way for all of the things that were happening in Riverdale.

They were fine until they went home. There was water in Alice's car with powder residue in the bottom that is probably that same poison.

Alice dropped them off and they stayed there alone.

There was a break in.

Was the break in before or after they already got there? It would have had to be while they were there or Alice would have noticed the open door. But if they were quiet enough, it is not an impossible thought.

They poisoned the water, put it back in the fridge, left a little white powder but didn't think about it.

Betty and Jug were in pain and half asleep, they barely noticed anything while they were there.

And all of this might be with Penelope's poison under Hiram's orders.

But the real question is: who poisoned the water and why?

FP comes in and hugs Jughead. He already looks a little better. He lays back, talking to his dad and occasionally moaning or holding onto his stomach.

"What is it?" his dad asks.

"They pumped my stomach and are now pumping me full of fluids. It hurts so bad."

Sweet Pea walks in next and nods toward me.

"How you feeling, Jug?" he asks, looking normal to him but panicked to me.

"Like death itself, Sweet Pea. You keeping the Serpents in order?"

"Of course."

I leave with Sweet Pea just outside the door. He holds out a cut up picture of the Coopers.

"Do you know who this belongs to?" I ask.

"No. I have no idea. Why?"

"I found it right outside the back door."

"Betty. We have to ask Betty."

 **Please give me some of your guesses! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THEM! WILL UPDATE AFTER AT LEAST THREE GUESSES!**


	48. Bughead Car Accident XI

**We found out who is behind all of this! Thank you for all who guessed! Please keep reviewing. Then we see what happens with Betty.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part XI.**

Chic.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" I demand. He circles around my bed, stopping at my head. I am too weak to fight him off. My arms are still sore. My body feels relaxed, like I can't lift a finger. I can feel myself getting better but the ache in my gut and the weakness that never seems to stop, I know I can't fight him off.

"You have been playing this game for far too long, Jughead."

"If you want to fight, I'm all for it but I'm a little incapacitated at the moment," I say. I try not to show fear. I had never been afraid of this fake brother who just wanted to get some money and a free place to stay for a while. He doesn't want to kill. He did kill but it was an accident. He's just a crazy kid who feels bad for himself and has no morals.

He's not smart enough to hurt us. But if that's true, why the hell is he here in my hospital room?

"You need to get out of here," I demand. "Whatever you want, this is not the way to get it."

"I want revenge. You were cruel and terrible to me. You kicked me out of the only home that I had ever known because you found out what I was. If it wasn't for you, my stupid sister would've never found out about me. Maybe she would've even defended me. But no…and now it's time for both of you to pay for it."

"Pay for it? For kicking you out?" I ask.

"And her…for turning me into the blackhead. I was lucky that I got away from him. I kept running and didn't stop until I got four cities away. I stayed there until I realized the only reason I was on the run was because of you and Betty," he says.

He stands above my bed. I try to sit up but can't muster up much energy. I am able to sit up, adjusting my hat on my head but I can't hold myself up here for very long. There are two IV's in my body, a catheter inside me and the ache in my gut is so strong I constantly feel like there is a meat grinder in my stomach.

"Now, I have the upper hand. I didn't think I would have to do this by hand. But you are hard to kill. Betty should have died the first time. I guess I didn't get the dose right. I was sure I got it right the second time…and then bam…you took her here, they pumped her stomach and both of you were fine again. How is that possible?" he asks.

I don't know what to say so I don't say anything at all. I try not to show fear. My face probably looks shocked, terrified but my body is so weak I can't muster up any other expression.

"Who set you up to this?" I ask. "I know you wouldn't have come back here unless you had to. You were terrified when we locked you up in the basement. You were terrified when we almost killed you, when I beat you up and when you thought that Betty was going to shoot you in the head. You realize, we could still do any of those things?"

I can see that he is thrown off by this. He wasn't expecting me to threaten him while I am hurting and incapable of actually physically fighting this guy. Chic puts his hand on my stomach and presses down. He pushes harder and harder. I can't breathe. I can't feel my torso.

"What's wrong? Something hurt?" he asks.

"Chic," I say, holding my hands up. "Just calm down, man. We'll figure out a way to avoid violence."

But I feel like I'm going to be sick. He lets up, looking at my monitor that is starting to go crazy. My heart rate is so high it's even scaring me. Chic grins as he leans down toward my face, making me wonder if he's going to try to kiss me or kill me.

"Violence? See? I was trying to avoid violence. I was trying to kill you with poison, as I was asked to do. But you kept out running me. And if I don't do what I am told, then I don't get paid…in fact I might get hurt. They might kill me if I don't succeed," he admits.

"Succeed?"

"In killing both of you."

"Who is pulling your strings, Chic?" I demand.

"No. No. I'm not telling you that."

"I already know. It was Hiram, wasn't it? He paid you to kill us using poison that Penelope Blossom makes in her green house. Hiram is the one that wants Betty and I out of the way. Maybe if we were poisoned and then we died in the hospital, it would look better, as if it were some complication from our bike accident. But how about now?" I ask him. I lean closer to him, trying to get in his face to scare him.

"How about when Hiram finds out that you killed us in the hospital? That you failed in poisoning us like he asked you to do? What's going to happen when he realizes that this looks a lot messier than he wanted. Betty's mom has a direct contact to the coroners office. She will plaster the truth of our deaths all of the city. If it's this messy, you won't get away with it," I tell him.

He looks at me as if he's thinking. He knows that I'm right. In truth, I don't care if I'm right. I want to get this guy the hell out of my room. I think about trying to press the nurse button or reaching for my phone. But he is watching my every move. He would know it in a second.

"Watch me," he says. He cracks his knuckles, which I now see have four brass knuckles on. He gives me that familiar Chic smile and leans close to my face.

"Maybe I can't kill both of you. But one of you is much worse off than the other…plus, I think you having to live with her death might be the worse pain you could ever imagine, Jughead."

He's going to kill Betty.

I can't stop him. If he does, I'd rather be dead than live with it.

Then there's nothing but blackness.


	49. Bughead Car Accident XII

**Jughead wakes up to find Betty. What will happen to her? What will happen to Jughead? Keep reviewing!**

 **I WILL POST AFTER FOUR NEW REVIEWS (suggestions for other fics welcome)!**

 **Thanks!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part XII.**

Betty. I have to get to Betty.

My head is throbbing. I'm pretty sure I threw up on the floor and my legs are asleep but I can move. I have to move. I have to get to her. I throw myself on the ground. At least this way I can crawl. My IV's are ripped from my body. I reach down to the catheter and realize I can't just rip this one out. I deflate the balloon with the little nozzle, hoping that is all it is going to take. I try to pull it out, breathing carefully through my nose and trying not to watch myself do it.

But then it's done and I can crawl toward the door. I open it, using the handle as a way to hold myself up.

I have no idea how long I have been asleep. I have no idea how long it took Chic to do whatever he wanted with Betty. I feel sick again. I stumble across the wall and hold myself up on chairs as I follow through the hallway. I see a nurse, try to call out for her but she doesn't see me. She just turns right into the next room. I could scream but I don't think my voice will work loud enough.

Instead, I keep going, trying to get across the lobby into the next hallway where I know Betty will be. I lean against the wall all the way there, practically falling over every time I have to stand on my own. I keep my arm across my stomach as I stumble toward her door. Finally, I am almost there. But the first door I open, the room is empty. Maybe I'm just at the wrong one. I lean against the door and then push myself to the next one, almost falling over. I cough, choking on vomit. I try so hard not to vomit, not to lose my stomach but it's pushing on my throat, on my cheeks.

I fall onto the next door and push it open before I throw up. I manage to choke it down when I see her. There she is. Betty. She's so beautiful. She's asleep. Her eyes are closed. Her blonde hair is falling around the sheets and her face. She looks perfect. I fall onto her bed and put my hands on her. She's warm. I shake her a little to wake her up.

I get nothing.

I pull the sheet down from her neck. She has purple marks on her throat, like someone choked her. Chic. I didn't get her in time. I look to her monitor. That should tell me everything. Her monitor is blank. I look around for anything connecting her to that machine. Nothing.

He must have taken it off before he…

Oh god. No.

I put my fingers to her carotid.

Nothing. I feel again. Nothing.

I rest my head to her chest. I can't hear her heart.

I scream.

I scream so loud that I don't think I'll ever be able to speak again after this. I push her bed all the way down so it's flat and put my terrified, shaking hands to her chest. I can't see from the tears and I can hardly breathe from the vomit that is coming up my throat. But I am pushing on her chest with my palms.

One, two, three, four, five…

"Please, wake up," I beg. "Please, Betty. I love you. I need you. I can't live without you."

Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty…

I put my lips to hers, opening her mouth and breathe. But her chest doesn't rise. I tilt her head back, holding onto her chin and do it again. This time her chest rises. One more breath with another rise. Then I go back to pumping. I think I'm screaming but I don't know at this point what I am doing. I just feel like a sick machine.

Suddenly, I am being pushed out of the way thrown to the side. New hand are taking over her chest while another pair land on my shoulders. They attempt to hold me up. I can't hold myself up so I have to use this person to do it.

There is a doctor working over Betty's body and two nurses with a machine, hooking her up to it. I watch them but I can't stop screaming for help. I can't stop telling them to make her come back, to make her okay. I tried to help her so much. I tried to stay awake. I tried to get Chic away from me. I failed her.

"I failed you, Betty," I mumble to myself as the tears and the vomit come out. I don't even care. I fall to my knees, vomiting and sobbing, hurting so badly I can't think straight.

I think my mind is actually melting. My heart is not breaking. It is broken, shattered, falling out of me in every way it possibly could be. In this moment, I am nothing.

And I wish I were dead.

"There you are!" Doc shouts.

"Betty. Can you hear us?"

"Yes."

Her voice. That was her voice.

I stand up, fumbling over to her and falling on a chair beside the bed. A doc helps me move over to her. Betty has her chest exposed with stickers attached to strings: one on her breast and the other on her side. Betty's eyes are open. She is looking right at me. When she sees me, her face falls and looks scared. I have no idea how I look.

"What's wrong? What happened?" she asks.

"Betty…you were…are you okay?" My voice sounds so terrible, I scare myself.

"Yes. I'm fine now," she says, reaching her hand up to my face. I lean closer to her, letting her comfort me. Her touch sends shocks through my body. It is her. I can feel it. I breathe, letting my heart and body come back together.

"What's on your lips?" she asks.

"Oh…uh," I don't want to tell her so I look to a nurse. She hands me a cloth and I wipe my face off. I throw it away in the can next to me and lean close to Betty again. The nurses and doctor are working around her, checking up on her and attaching the machine to her again.

"I'm fine," I tell her.

"Was this all because of Chic?" she asks.

"He came in here?"

She nods. "I remember now. He came in here and put his hands around my throat. He said that he was going to kill me so that he could kill us both…what did he mean by that?"

"He came in my room. I talked him down from killing but then he said he had to kill one of us. He said that killing you would hurt me more than death would," I admit. "Then I blacked out. When I woke up, I came straight here. I started CPR… I didn't know what to do."

"You did CPR on me?" she asks with shock in her eyes. Tears fall down her cheeks, scaring me. I wipe them away, leaning my forehead against hers. I know I smell terrible but in this moment she doesn't seem to mind. She kisses my forehead as tears fall down her face.

"I'm so sorry," she says.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get Chic away from you."

"We're okay," she promises.

I turn to the nursing staff.

"Where is he?"

"Who?" the nurse asks.

"The man that did all of this. He's short, skinny, creepy, blonde hair and boney," I explain. "Where the hell is he? He came into both of our rooms while no one was looking. He killed her!"

"Alright. We'll get Sheriff Jones in here right away to get that security footage. Otherwise, we need to move another bed into Betty's room," Doc says. I look between them, not understanding.

"We need to get Jughead on a bed and we need security posted outside of this room 24/7. I also need a nurse to check in on these two every thirty minutes during the day."

"You'd like us to move Jughead into Betty's room?" she asks.

"Yes."

"That's not traditional practice, doctor," the nurse says. I think about yelling at her, putting her in her place but then decide not to. The doctor will do that for me.

"No. But neither is having a man come in to attempt to kill our already wounded patients. Jughead needs his IV's back and he needs to be in a bed in this room so I can watch over both of them. Got it?"

The nurse nods.

I look back to Betty. I grab her in a hug and hold her close. We cry together. We hold each other. We kiss. We caress and embrace until the nightmares are gone and the pain in our hearts slowly ebbs away.

 **I WILL POST AFTER FOUR REVIEWS! THANKS.**


	50. Bughead Car Accident XIII

**Thank you for all of the reviews! There are SO MANY people reading this and it's just unbelievable so thank you all for reading and reviewing!**

 **This is RATED M. Now…Betty and Jughead are finally in the same room.**

 **RATED M. RATED M.**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part XIII.**

"Jug?" I ask.

"Betty," he says, looking over at me. He looks tired, worn out and sleepy. But he still looks like him. He looks more like him than any expression I have seen for a while.

"Are we better yet?" I ask in a mumbled, annoyed voice. My body still hurts but it has been two days of laying in this bed, waiting for something to change.

"At least we don't have poison coursing through our veins anymore," he says.

That is at least a good point. I roll my head to the side to look at him. I want to walk over and curl up next to him but my legs are tired. I decide that I could use the exercise. Jughead almost tries to get me to sit back down when I flip my legs over the edge of the bed and walk over to him. He opens his arms for me, almost rolling his eyes.

I lay next to him, putting my head on his chest and feeling his warmth almost immediately. It makes me feel good again, and incredibly safe, which I have not felt in a long time. Jug squeezes my shoulder to him. He rests his head down on mine. We interlock our fingers. He is holding me so tight, as if I might leave if he doesn't hold onto me.

"You okay, Juggie?" I ask. I can both feel and hear him sigh. He rests his shoulders down, contorting his whole body to be closer to me, pressed against me, as close as we can get.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he assures. But his body is shaking. His heart is fluttering. I can feel it in his chest. His hands are trembling, though they are holding onto me so tightly I am losing circulation.

"Jug," I whisper to him, tracing patterns along his hand and arm until they travel to his shoulder. He shivers but smiles at me so I continue as he watches.

"You're heart stopped, Betty," he says, his voice cracking and his hand going to his mouth. I put my hand to the side of his face, trying to suppress the tears that come to my eyes when I see him. He looks so terrified, so shaken.

"I'm right here," I assure. It doesn't help. It is not enough. He needs me to show him that I am with him.

I look to the door and then back to him. It's dark. It has been for some hours now. No one is around. No one checks on us at night anymore. We have that guard still posted outside of our room. Maybe I can show him just how close we can be.

"Jughead," I say.

I reach up to his face and kiss him. He kisses me back. I don't think he understand what I am trying to do when I kiss him deeper, sending my arms around his neck and my body closer to his. Our kisses travel as his hands reach their favorite spot on my breasts and then back on my waist where he squeezes me. This goes on for several minutes.

I reach down to touch him.

He gasps, closes his eyes and leans his head back. One nice thing about hospital gowns: easy access.

"Wait," he says, grabbing my hand.

I look into his eyes, questioning what he is doing. He looks conflicted and still a little scared.

"Someone tried to kill us, Betty. He came back here and tried to take our lives," he says.

Way to kill the mood.

"I know, Jug. But he's gone now. The Serpents and your dad are looking for him all the time. He's not going to get past the armed guard or Fangs at the door. I promise, Jug."

He nods.

"You're scared. You're still thinking too much. Let me take all of that away," I beg of him. "Let me show you something good."

He doesn't respond but I don't need him to. I lean up to kiss him. This time he doesn't stop me when I reach my hand down to touch him. We touch and kiss like this for a long time, his hand finding me just as easily as I found him. Soon, he is on top of me, pushing our gowns out of the way and reach between us.

"Betty," he sighs when he looks into my eyes, right above me. I love to see him this way, his body needing me and his mind wanting to share all of his love. He is closer to me than he normally is, his body almost on me completely.

"I can't…my arms aren't—"

"What is it?" I ask him, making him look to me. I keep my hands on his head and in his hair as he stares, almost completely naked. All he has is the hospital gown around his waist.

"I'm not strong enough yet," he says. "To hold all of my weight the whole time."

"I don't think I can either, Jug," I admit. Maybe we are too weak for this.

"I have a different idea," he says.

I nod. He flips around behind me so we are spooning. I don't get it at first until I feel him against me. Then I understand. He holds me close, keeping his arm around me as he pushes into me. He kisses down my neck, holding onto my body as I moan for him.

"Keep going, Jug," I beg.

He can't speak. He is too busy groaning in my ear, squeezing me and holding me tightly to him. He rests most of his body on the bed but can move enough that we move together in perfect harmony. I can feel all of him just like I wanted. It makes me gasp when he is this close.

"Betty," he whispers.

Finally, when we are breathing heavily, not able to hold back how good this feels, everything falls and complete euphoria comes over us both. I lay on him, putting all of my weight onto his tired body. Neither of us move. Neither of us speak. We don't have to. At least right here, right now we can feel safe.

That is, until we hear a grunt from the guard outside of the room and the door swings open.


	51. Bughead Car Accident XIV

**Betty and Jug have to fight off…someone! Thank you for all the reviews! I am almost up to 100,000 views! Please keep reviewing!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part XIV.**

"What do you want?" I demand, sitting at the edge of the bed. The door slams against the wall as Malakai walks through.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I ask. "Get out, Malakai!"

Previous leader of the Ghoulies. Malakai. Then Penny took over and Malakai took a back row seat. Now he is here in my room with Betty at the hospital. He had to get past Fangs and two guards.

Why is he here? How?

"Chic sent me. The cops are after him so he sent me instead. Figured, I had a bone to pick with you. He was right so here I am," he says. "You took our leader. You got rid of our gang. And your bitch of a queen attacked us over the summer. Now I'm gonna make it all even."

"Really, Malakai? We're in a damn hospital for Christ' sake! You think this fight is going to be even?" I demand, making myself stand. I won't let him get to Betty. She might be able to help me but she is too weak to fight him off by herself and I don't know what he'll do.

"How was it even over the summer? When your bitch came up to my guys in the middle of the day?"

"There was nothing wrong with you! You weren't out numbered! It was a fair fight! You beat up Archie so we beat up your guys!"

"And if you call me a bitch one more time, I'm gonna knock your head off," Betty says, sitting up in the bed. I realize that she is not going to let this go. I watch her struggle to stand up, still sore but much stronger than before. At least she can walk over here and hold herself up easily. Injured, with our asses hanging out the back of these gowns and sweaty from just having sex, we're now faced with a very large, strong man who is ready to kill us.

Malakai cracks his knuckles together and then leans toward me. I can't block him so I kick the side of his leg. It shocks him, turning him to the side so I can grab him by the neck. I send him to his knees but he flips me around, kicking me and sending me to my back. I cough, not able to catch my breath. My chest suddenly is on fire. I try to turn to Betty when I see him grabbing her. He has her wrists in his hands, pulling her toward the bed to hold her down. He slaps her across the face, sending her coughing as I try to get up. My body is too weak.

It won't listen to me. I can't get up. I have to do something. I grab his ankle, pulling him as hard as I can. He barely moves, kicking his leg back toward my face. I try to avoid him, dodging his foot the first time. But then he does it again and I roll over, pulling his leg from the ground and twisting him. It is just enough for him to stumble and lose his grip on her. She punches him across the face.

"Hey! Hey! Help!" I shout.

Malakai turns around to me and kicks me in the stomach.

I see stars.

I can't breathe. I can't find where I am in the world or who is around me. Then I feel Malakai's hands on me again, moving me over to the wall. I roll over to get as far away from him as I can, fighting him off, trying to make him get away from me. But then I decide if he's focused on me, he can't be around Betty.

"You are such a wuss, Malakai," I tell him.

He stops trying to get to me and just looks in my direction. I make myself sit up, trying to look a little bit more like I am capable of fighting him off. He looks livid.

"What?" he asks with a grin on his face. I can see Betty moving behind him very slowly. I don't know what she is going to do but I have to distract him long enough for her to do it.

"I said you are such a wuss. You couldn't even fight off two of us. We're in a hospital after being poisoned and you chose now to beat us up? Come in here and beat up an injured girl? Wow, Malakai. You really are such a strong man."

Just as he is about to hit me, Betty smacks him over the head with an IV pole. He falls over onto the ground. I scatter away from him, pulling myself up and grabbing Betty in my arms. I wrap her in my embrace, remembering to breathe.

"We've got to get help," Betty mumbles.

I nod.

I bring her outside of the room to find the guard on the floor. He has a pulse but is knocked out cold. I go up to the front desk. No one.

"Hello? Hello?" I shout.

After a few shouts, a nurse runs over to us.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she asks.

"Someone just attacked us in our room! The guard was out cold and there was no one to be found!" I say, trying not to shout at someone who doesn't know anything about it.

"I'll call the police," she says.

She rushes over to call the police when Betty turns to me, grabbing my arm.

"What?" I ask.

"Fangs."

We both rush to the front door. The nurse is telling us not to leave and that we need to get back into the room but we are already running. Finally when we stop there, Fangs is no where to be found.

"Fangs!" Betty shouts.

"Fangs!"

We hear a groan and turn to the side where he lays in the lobby. Fangs. We rush to him, grabbing his arms to help him up. His face is bloody. He's moaning and doesn't look so good.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Malakai. He used a taser and then he hit me in the face. I'm so sorry guys. I couldn't fight him off."

"It's alright, man," I tell him. "We'll be fine. We'll be fine."

That's when we see the lights and hear the sirens as they roll up in front of the hospital. Just in time too, because just like that German blonde from _Die Hard_ , Malakai comes back from the imaginative dead. He walks toward us with the pole Betty used in one hand and a knife in the other.

"Get out of my way, Jones. I'm gonna cut your bitches eyes out."


	52. Bughead Car Accident XV

**Jughead and Betty have to fight off Malakai. Thanks for continuing to read and review! SOOO excited that I got to see the special fan event viewing of** _ **Five Feet Apart**_ **two days before the premiere. It was amazing, insightful and makes you really think. Hope you guys all go see it on Friday! (For those in the US).**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part XV.**

"Betty, get behind me," I demand.

I don't look at her. I just push her behind my shoulders. She shuffles her feet behind me as I make myself stand. I hold her around her waist, keeping her behind me as I get closer to the very bloody Malakai. He is so angry it is practically dripping from his pores.

"Malakai, we can talk about this," I say. "We don't have to fight. I just wanted to—"

He goes at me with the knife.

I curse in my head, dodging away from it. I dodge it twice than a third time and almost miss. Just when he is about to go for my head, I grab his writs. I can't have him going for Betty. I pull him closer to me so his arm is across my chest, holding onto him as tightly as I can.

I bite his arm so he starts to let go of the knife. Betty sees that and grabs it from him, pulling his fingers. He doesn't let go at first so she pulls his finger back further.

"Break it!" I shout.

She pulls it back as far as she can until it snaps. Malakai lets go. I grab the knife from Betty, pushing her behind me again. She wants to get beside me, help me fight him off but I won't let her. I run toward Malakai with the knife out. He is still hunched over his hand when I jam the knife into his side. He gasps, grabbing onto it and trying to get away from me.

"Get off!" Malakai shouts.

I push away from him, holding onto the knife and pointing it in his direction. Betty and I watch as Malakai tries to attack again. He launches himself at us. I push my knife toward him so he backs up but never stops trying. We have to get out of here.

I turn to the door. It's close. But Fangs might not make it if we run.

"Betty, run," I shout.

"What?" she asks.

"Run!"

"No. I'm not leaving you."

She's right. I know she won't. I turn back to Malakai when he throws me to the ground. I push the knife toward him when he holds my hand down onto the ground. I knee him, trying to get him off but it fails. He is too heavy and I am too weak. The knife goes flying across the floor. Betty reaches for it but Malakai hits her across the face.

She's out cold.

Malakai turns to me, pulling himself close with the knife now in his hand. Betty is knocked out on the ground, no blood, which scares me a little. But I'm scared either way. What if she doesn't want up? What if something really is wrong with her?

Oh god.

I make myself stand but the entire room is blurring. I am so dizzy I think I might fall right back over but I have to get to him first. If Betty is really hurt because of him, I will kill him.

That's a promise.

"What is your problem with me?" I demand.

"My problem is with all of you! You think you can come into Riverdale and be the next great king! You think you can mess with our queen and nothing will happen!" he shouts. "I hate you! I hate that you constantly get in our way no matter what we are trying to do. You need to go and I'll be the one to do it."

"You wouldn't be the first to try or to fail," I say.

He lunges at me and I step away from him easily. His movements are sloppy, messy. I can see them coming and am able to dodge him. I punch him in the head when he goes for my gut, which sends him flying backwards and holding onto his face.

"Jughead!" Archie shouts.

I turn to him. Before I get the change to change his mind, Archie lunges at Malakai, throwing him to the ground and beating up on him. He holds him down, wailing on his face over and over again. I see the blood start to fly from his head as Archie holds him down. Malakai tries to get away, to escape, screaming and crying for a way out but Archie doesn't let up. He wails on him again and again until Malakai is out cold. But he doesn't stop there. I grab Archie's arm to pull him off.

"He hurt Betty!" Archie shouts.

"Come on! He's out cold, Arch," I say, trying to pull him off again but I am too weak to really do it. Archie finally stops to look at me.

"He could have killed you both," Archie says. I nod. He's right. He was going to kill us and to be honest, if Archie hasn't come, I have no idea what I would have done. I would have kept fighting until he or I were dead, I guess. But I don't want to think about that.

We need to get to Betty and Fangs.

"Are the police on their way?" I ask.

He nods. "And the Serpents. They'll take care of Malakai."

He's right. They will. I rush past him to get to Betty while he goes over to Fangs. Fangs is still awake, talking to him, which makes me feel slightly relieved inside. Maybe he will be okay.

"Betty?" I ask.

Her eyes flicker open to look at me.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"My head," she says, trying to sit up. I put my hand to her head, calming her down. I pull her closer to me so she can rest her weight on my body as I kneel by her.

"You were hit. You're probably going to have a headache for a while. But you'll be okay I think. We need to get you checked out," I tell her.

She nods.

"Archie," she says. He smiles when he sees her eyes open and comes over to her, kneeling beside her.

"So are people done coming after us?" she asks.

"I think so. I learned everything I could. Malakai and Chic were both paid to work together to kill you. They were paid by Hiram but given the stuff to do the dirty work by Penelope. This has all been because you got in their way, messed with their affairs and ruined a lot of their plans."

Makes sense. It makes terrible, awful sense but it does make sense.

"We'll be safe then. I think the best thing we could do is go home," I say.

"Home?" Betty asks.

"The trailer."

She nods, smiling and laying back onto my chest.

"Is it over, Juggie?" Betty asks.

"Oh, Bets. You know just as well as I do that it is never over in Riverdale."


	53. Bughead Car Accident XVI

**Final chapter! Here is some healing and some recovery! Thank you all for fallowing this story. I will probably have another story that fallows the characters and story but adds another plot line, similar to this one. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part XVI.**

"Betty," I say, kissing her forehead. I put her breakfast down on the table beside our bed. Her eyes flutter open. I brush my hand over the knot on her forehead. She winces so I move, inspecting it without my hands. She gives me a small smile as she sits up.

"What is that?" she asks with a smile, nodding to the plate on the table. I smile, holding it out in front of her.

"Thought you might be tired of hospital food," I tell her.

"Wow. Eggs, biscuits, bacon, this is great," she says, taking a bite. "Thank you."

I sit closer to her, keeping my hand draped over her knee. I never want her to get too far away. The last time I let her out of my sight for five seconds, well I don't want to think about it.

We've had the Serpents here watching us all the time and a deputy too. I know that they are going to come after us again but we were tired of being in that hospital. At least we know that everything is safe here. The poison was finally gone from our system and we could rest. Here, we are alone and sometimes there is nothing to do but at least we have each other.

I hear a knock on the door. I turn to it, standing up right away. I grab a baseball bat and walk over. Betty starts to get up but I shake my head. She is wearing a tee shirt and her underwear. I really don't think she should be answering the door no matter who it is.

"Just eat your breakfast," I say.

She nods, sitting back down but I can tell that she is concerned. She looks afraid of whatever could be behind that door. I don't want to scare her more than she already is but we both know that this is likely someone who wants to hurt us. I am not exactly strong but I am not as bad off as I was before.

There is another knock so I walk closer with the bat in my hand.

"It's just me," Archie says.

I open the door.

"Jesus, man, I thought you were Chic," I say, putting the bat down by the door and letting him in. He goes over to the kitchen and then looks around the room for Betty.

"Where is she?"

"Bedroom," I say. He starts to walk back when I grab his arm and pull him back.

"What?" he asks. I blush, feeling weird for a second before I realize that it's just Archie and he probably doesn't care.

"She's not, like, dressed, dude. Give her a second," I say.

"Okay, well I want her to hear this too." I nod, going toward the back room. "And maybe put some pants on while you're there, Jug. Not sure why you thought you were going to kill Chic in your underwear."

"Shut up, Arch," I say, grabbing my jeans and tossing them on. Betty smiles when she sees me and gets out of bed. Clearly, she heard who it was. She brings part of her breakfast with her, chewing as she walks with me back to Archie in the kitchen.

"What is it?" she asks.

"Chic. They found him."

"Who's they?" I demand. Why the hell didn't he say this earlier? This is not the kind of thing you just wait around for.

"The cops. They've arrested him. They have video footage of him in the hospital attacking you. They'll send him in jail for a couple of years at least," he says.

"Oh my god," Betty says beside me. She rests her head on my shoulder, beaming. Finally, we know that this is almost over.

"But the real problem is that Hiram didn't get what he wanted," I say. "He wanted us dead."

"No he didn't. Chic and Malakai wanted you dead. He just wanted you out of his way for a while. I think he'll leave you alone now that he has what he wants in Riverdale."

He's probably right.

"And Malakai?"

"Sweet Pea has him. He's waiting for your instructions. What do you want to do with him, Jug?" he asks.

I look to Betty.

She grins.

"Leave him to us."

Archie nods. "I'm gonna go tell him."

I turn to Betty.

"Go get your jacket, Serpent Queen. It's time to show off some of that power."

Outside, Sweet Pea is waiting for us with Malakai. His hands are tide behind his back. His ankles are tied together and he is sitting against an old tree.

"Malakai. How's it going, man?" I ask him.

"Get out of my face, Jones."

"No. You see. The Ghoulies are practically nonexistent. The few that do exist, have no leader. But I'm a leader. I'm a king. And I was just thinking that if they needed someone…that someone could be me."

"They'll never join you."

"Join or die, baby."

He tries to spit at me. I jump back so he misses. I send my boot into his guy so he coughs and falls to his side. He still has a smile on his face.

"That was for the comment," I say.

"You gonna beat me up, Jones? While I'm tied up? Since you couldn't take me in the hospital by yourself?"

"No, I'm not. I have someone that wants to talk to you," I say. "Betty!"

She walks out of the trailer in metaphorical slow motion. High waisted red shorts to show off those perfect thighs of hers and that tattoo that makes me want to push her against the wall and kiss the hell out of her. Black boots that mean business, her hair falling around her shoulders instead of up in a ponytail and her Serpent Queen jacket.

Damn.

She's so hot.

"You're bitch wants to talk?" Malakai asks.

"No. My queen wants to remove your fingers, one by one. And I suggest you refer to her as the queen if you want to keep your balls," I say. I turn to Sweet Pea and the boys, nodding toward the chairs by the trailer.

"Come on, boys," I say. "Let's leave our Queen to her business."

I sit back in one of the chairs as the grin on Betty's face becomes darkened. I see her demons come out, her hands form into fists and her body start to shake with rage. This is her fight. We'll let her have it.

After she is done with him, I don't think anyone will be going after the Serpents any time soon.


	54. Serpent Queen I

**Fans seem to like these off the script AU's. So here we go! Archie is kidnapped. This takes place when he was supposed to be in Canada. Betty and Jughead set the Serpents off on a mission to find him. Please review! I will post after four reviews. Please answer: who's POV do you like better, Jughead or Betty or Archie? Thanks!**

 **Serpent Queen I.**

 **Betty POV.**

Yesterday:

" _Betty," Jughead says on the other line. He sounds strange, almost panicked. This is not his every day, deep, brooding voice. This is the voice that makes ms shake all over. It sounds like the time he told me he loved me right before he let the Ghoulies beat him the hell up. Oh no, Jug. What have you gotten yourself into now?_

" _What is it?" I beg._

" _Betty, it's Archie. I'm so sorry."_

" _What? What happened, Jug?" I ask. His voice sounds far away, in pain and almost like it is about to crack. When he speaks the next words, they are wavering._

" _He's gone, Betty. We can't find him. He's missing."_

"Alright, I want Sweet Pea and Fangs with me on this one," I demand. "We're heading up to Canada with Jug. If Archie is going to respond to anyone, it will be us first.

"What about me, Jones?" Toni asks.

I turn to Jughead and he shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. Of course, Toni would only speak to Jughead when she knew that I was the one leading the charge on this mission. She thinks that I am not a good enough leader or maybe she just doesn't trust me. Either way, I am in charge and she needs to respect that. Since Jughead doesn't say anything, I cross my leather covered arms over each other and stick my hip out, trying to act tougher than I feel.

"I'm the head on this mission," I say. "You can just ask me."

"Fine," she says with an eye-roll. "Where do you want me?"

I can't look to Jughead to give an answer because that will demean everything I just did. I have to make this decision on my own.

"Sure. You can go with me."

"That means Cheryl too," Toni says.

"No, we need her with the others going to the jail," I say.

"Why?" she asks. Cheryl puts her hands over her chest.

"Because we need her archery skills there. We're going in stealth to Canada. We don't want anyone messing that up for us. We know where he was. We are searching the surrounding areas for any sign of him."

Toni and Cheryl shut up but I can tell they don't like being separated. The truth is, I just don't want to have to deal with them together. I don't give a crap where Cheryl goes, as long as it is not with me and away from Toni if at all possible.

"When do we leave?" Sweet Pea asks, pulling his hands together in front of him. I can tell he is ready to kick some ass. But then again, he always is. I can always count on him to destroy if I need him to.

"After Jug and I find out more about this," I say.

"When is that going to be?" Cheryl asks, as if it matters to her.

"We start no later than two days. But Jug and I need to ask some questions first."

"To who?" Fangs asks. I feel like each of them are taking their turns questioning my leadership. Maybe this is my chance to prove to them that I can do this just as much as Jug can. Maybe I can do this just as good as he can. Maybe I can prove myself.

"The warden Norton. Hiram Lodge. Anyone in Canada that he was supposed to be with. Once we get everything we can out of them, we release the mission and find Archie," I say.

"So what do we do in the mean time?" Toni asks.

"Stay stealth. Stay low. Don't ask questions. We don't want Hiram finding him before we do."

"I'm going to suggest that a few of you search locally. In case Archie really did just run away from the location we all thought he was at, we want to be sure we aren't looking for him for nothing," Jug says. I nod toward him, trying not to hit myself for not thinking about that. Of course we should look around Riverdale first.

"Each one of you pair up. Fangs, take the high school. Sweet Pea, the lot. Cheryl, check the woods, including the bunker and I want Toni on Betty's neighborhood. Got it?" Jug asks. They all nod. Why do they question everything I demand but not a single thing Jug says? As much as I hate that Archie is gone, I am going to make them listen to me by using this opportunity.

When they are all dismissed, walking around tent city, I turn to Jug with a roll of my eyes and my hands on my hips. He puts his arms around with a smile.

"You did great," he says.

He already knows what I am thinking.

"Then why do they question me?" I demand.

"Because you are still new. Every time you helped us before, you were never the lead. It was always me with you by my side. Now it's the other way around and they're not used to it. Don't worry. They will be. This gives them real purpose for a while and they like that."

Fair enough for now I guess.

"We have to get out of here," he says with a smile, wrapping his arm around me. He's right. We have another job to do.

"Let's talk to Hiram first," he says.

"Are you sure? I mean, it didn't exactly go well the last time we talked to him," I tell him.

"When does it ever go well? But I want him to know that we have people all over the city looking for Archie and that I am not just going to let him take Archie without a fight," Jug says and then seems to think better of it as we walk to our bikes. "Do you think maybe you should stay here?" he asks in a strange tone.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Stay here in the tent city for a while."

"No way, Jug. I am coming with you. We are in this together. We don't know what they are doing with Archie or even if they are keeping him alive," I say, realizing that if I keep talking about what is really going on, I am going to freak out mentally and possibly break down. I can't afford that right now. I grab my helmet and blink away the tears. But Jug notices, grabbing my free hand and pulling me over to him.

"I know it's scary. We don't even know if someone took him. He could have just run away."

"He wouldn't have done that without telling us," I say.

"What if he did?" he asks.

I don't have an answer.

"He would have told someone," I say instead.

"Maybe. Or maybe he thought that keeping us out of it would be better and safer for everyone. We are going to find him, Betty. Let's just see what Hiram knows first while the others are scouring the city. If Archie is in Riverdale, we will know."

"Alright," I say with a nod. "I trust you."

I hop on my bike and ride off behind Jughead.

 **Remember, please answer the question: who is your fave POV Jughead, Betty or Archie in the comments or as part of a review! Thanks! I will post after at least four reviews!**


	55. Serpent Queen II

**Betty and Jughead talk to Hiram. What will Veronica think of their latest accusations about her father? Then they will have to travel to Canada with the others to find Archie. This will be several chapters long. Please keep reviewing, ideas welcome.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part II.**

Betty grabs onto my hand when we enter the apartment. Mrs. Lodge let us in but I doubt she is going to be very happy when she realizes what we are really here for. Veronica spots us, coming out of her room. She looks at us with shock as she makes her way over to Betty. I squeeze here hand harder than before.

"What are you two doing here?" Veronica asks. "I mean, I'm always glad to see a friend but Betty, you don't normally bring Jughead to our hang outs."

"We're not here for you, V," she says in a sad tone, almost trying to let her down gently. I don't know how Veronica is still part of our friend group after everything her father did. But I have to remind myself that none of it was really her fault. She has been trying to help Archie and her parents are not under her control.

"We're actually here to see your father," Betty says. "I need to ask him something about Archie."

"Whatever it is, my father is done dealing with Archie. Arch is gone and now that I am not with him anymore, my father has much worse things to deal with," she says, crossing one expensive tan arm over another. She always has on the most extravagant clothes, even just to walk around her house. My family is lucky if I put pants on to walk around the trailer.

Different folks, right?

"Well we need to talk to him anyway," I say, pulling Betty with me. I turn on her arm until she follows, stopping before his office. Veronica is still glaring at us with her arms over her chest from afar.

"I'm telling you, Jughead, he doesn't know anything about Archie. Once he left, my dad washed his hands of him," she calls from behind us. I knock again, this time with more urgency. When the door is opened, he looks annoyed but not at all surprised that we are here.

"What on earth are you doing, Jones?" he asks.

"We have some questions. Let us in, answer them and we'll leave. No trouble," I say, with a hand out in front of me. I want him to tell us the truth but I don't know if he'll listen long enough. I push my way through his side and stand at his desk, bringing Betty with me. I can feel her hand shaking, squeezing mine very hard. I want to ask her what happened, why she is doing that but when I try to meet her eyes, she doesn't look at me.

"What do you want?" he asks, sitting behind his desk and putting one leg over the other. I don't sit down. I do not have the patience to be here very long.

"I want to know if you had anything to do with Archie disappearing," I say.

He laughs, just like I expected that he would. I knew that he would say something sarcastic and defend himself. He is the god in his world. He can do no wrong.

"I did not," he says with confidence and a bow of his head. "But why would you believe me? If I were you, I would not believe me and I would have no idea how to find out the truth with your intelligence level."

Now it is my turn to laugh.

"Your daughter might not be with Archie anymore but she loves him a lot more than she loves you. If you had anything to do with Archie disappearing, I will find out and I will come for you," I promise.

"Oh, Jughead. How would that look?"

Betty leans on the desk, slamming her hands down hard so the entire apartment hears.

"You don't threaten him and you don't get to laugh about a subject like Archie! You are answering our questions here, Hiram!" she shouts, so angry I wonder if her palms are bleeding. I let her be this angry. It takes him back for a surprise. He leans back in his chair, looking almost scare but not not quite. Perhaps he is just hiding it. She leans closer to him so she is just inches from his face. "Now, what did you do to Archie?"

"I am not the only one that hates him," he says. "I am not the only one that he pissed off."

"What do you know?" she asks.

"I know that he might have made me angry but I did not—"

"No! I will not listen to your banter any longer! I know you know something about how Archie disappeared. He was supposed to be somewhere and he is not there anymore. There is evidence of foul play and he won't answer any of us. No one else knew where he was supposed to be. I think you found out, got angry that he was still around and had your minions find him. Now…where the hell is Archie?" she demands.

I bite my lip, watching Betty demand and feel strong in front of a man like him. Damn she is good. It makes me want to grab her and kiss her, push her against the wall and take her right here. But I know that we have more important things to deal with.

"I heard you are now the serpent queen. How is it being queen of the lowlives?" he asks.

"How about you tell me what you know before I kill you," she says. There is so much anger behind what she is saying and so much passion behind her seething body that I really think she might kill him right here if she doesn't get her answer.

I have to get her the hell out of here before she kills her best friend's father.

"Betty," I say. But she can't hear me. She is so angry that she is focused on killing the man before her.

"I know that if I had the opportunity to sick my gargoyles on him, I would have," he says with a smile on his face but I can tell that he is afraid of her. I would be too. "I also know that if I were you, I'd find him rather fast. They are rather far and there is not much you can do from here. You better hurry little Betty. Your boy next door isn't doing very well and I don't know how long they'll keep him alive."

She lunges across the table. I grab Betty around her waist as she rips her nails across Hiram's face. He leans back in shock. He puts his hand to his face, touching the blood that starts just under his eyes. I pull her body toward me, holding her back against my chest as I make her come to the door of his office.

"Betty!" Veronica shouts as I drag her to the door, seething with anger.

I push her outside of the room, her body shaking and her mouth seething. I turn to Veronica and mrs. Lodge, both of them looking shocked and surprised at Betty's actions.

"Just so you know, your father just admitted to having Archie kidnapped, threatened his life and said he doesn't have long to live," I say and pull out my phone to show her the voice recording on the screen. "And I recorded the entire thing."


	56. Serpent Queen III

**Thanks for all the reviews! This has over 102,000 views! Amazing! New question for the review, what is your favorite kind of bughead scene: comforting, sexual, adventurous or as serpent king and queen?**

 **Thanks! Will post after five reviews with an answer to the question!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part III.**

"Betty! Betty!" I shout, entering her room. She sits straight up and puts her hand over her face.

"What, Jug?" she demands, looking tired. I hate to wake her up like this but we are about to get beat the hell up if we don't leave right now. I grab her arm and pull her up out of bed. She tries to pull away from me. I know I am scaring her but I have to.

"We have to go right now, Bets. Get up," I say. I throw her a pair of jeans and look for one of her shirts. She puts them on, standing up and wiping her face off.

"What is going on?" she demands.

"You published the quotes from Hiram. He is angry and probably sending out his people for us," I say. "Even if he doesn't, the town is not happy with us or with him right now so we need to get the hell out of here."

"What? Where are we going to go?" she asks. I toss her a shirt. She puts it on and I begin stuffing shirts into a bag, a pair of jeans and a soft pair of sweatpants. I grab her toothbrush and her hair brush. I don't know what else to pack so I hand it over to her. She puts a few more things into the bag while I try to calm myself down.

"My bag is on my bike. We're taking the bikes and getting out of here. We're going up to Canada to look for Archie. At least then, we'll get him out of there and by the time we get back, the town will have calmed down," I explain. I can believe that she did this but I cannot believe what Veronica told me this morning at my house. I don't know if I should tell her about her best friends fears if she doesn't already know. Maybe she'll just have to know later. I pull her toward the door.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Mrs. Cooper asks. Of course she would interrupt us. I turn to her.

"We have to go, Mrs. Cooper. We will be back in a little while but we have to find Archie."

"Oh I saw the paper, Jughead. I know what Betty did. That was dangerous! You have no idea what that man is capable of or what he might do to come after you!" she shouts at Betty. I pull her toward the door because we don't have time for this.

"I know," she says. "We both know. It's part of why we're leaving. Just say you don't know where we are if anyone ever asks."

We hop on the bikes. Betty puts her backpack in the back of the bike and nods toward me.

"Ready?" I ask her.

She nods.

We ride all the way into the woods, toward the forest and through the trees until we reach the meeting point. It is at least an hour of riding, weaving in and out of traffic, avoiding people and going as fast as we can without being dangerous. But then we stop at the meeting point in the center of the woods through a clearing. It is miles from Riverdale already. With every mile that passes, I feel better. I feel further from the hate that looms over our heads every moment we are there. I feel better knowing that Betty is safer here with me and the rest of the serpents.

Finally, we stop. I take the helmet off and turn to Betty. She gets off of her bike and sits against a tree, waiting for the others. She is breathing heavily, almost as if she ran all the way here. I sit beside her and wrap my arm around her shoulders. She leans closer to me, resting her head on my shoulder. I can feel her breathing deeply.

"You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, that was just really fast," she says.

"I know. I'm sorry. We're okay now. We're just going to wait for the rest of the serpents and we'll leave to find Archie," I tell her. "It won't be long before we get to him."

"Where do we start looking?" she asks.

"Where we know he was supposed to be. We talk to everyone there and then we find where the Gargoyles took him," I tell her. I hear motorbikes on the horizon. I turn to them, standing up. Betty stands up with me but I hold her behind me until I see who it is. I wait until Sweet Pea comes into view, then Fangs, Cheryl and Toni. They get off their bikes and come toward us, waiting for the plan.

"How's it going, Jug?" Sweet Pea asks.

"Alright."

"So what's the plan?" Toni asks. I turn to Betty. She nods, stepping forward and putting her gloved hands into her serpent leather jacket pockets.

"You follow me. We ride up to his boss, some female ranger and ask her everything that she knows. We'll see where we go after that. Jug and I will do the talking. The rest of you stay behind. You're on watch. This is gargoyle territory and the ghoulies are not exactly quiet. So just do what you can to watch out for us," she says and then seems to be thinking about something. "Cheryl, do not shoot unless Jug or I say to."

"Whatever. I am not letting my Toni be target practice for some trash monkey," she mutters. She presses her red lips together, making me wonder how she expects to keep that make up of hers perfect while we sleep out in the middle of the woods.

"Just please wait until we give you the order. Sometimes you jump to conclusions a little too soon," I jump in.

"Fine," she says.

We hop on our bikes and drive all the way up to the center we found. We stop at a very small location. It looks like a shed. There are trails all over the place and even some wild life that we have to avoid. We stop outside of what was Archie's small house. Betty gets off her bike first and runs toward the very open door. She stops and puts her hand over her mouth.

I turn to Sweet Pea.

"Watch our backs," I mutter and run to Betty. I stop at the door way too because I realize what she is looking at. Blood. Archie's blood all over the bed, the ground, and signs of a struggle. There is chaos everywhere we look. There are things on the floor, shelves broken and a chair toppled over. Then I hear a strange noise. A dog barking.

Vagus.

I turn to the dog that jumps up on me, recognizing me right away. I pet him, bringing him closer and hugging him. His tags are still on him but he has blood on his paws. He must be starving.

"We have to feed him," I say.

Betty nods and walks into the shed, looking around or anything that could be a clue. There is nothing here but some blood and some knocked over shelves. Nothing except a note on the bed. She picks it up, tears falling onto her cheeks, making my heart break in my chest. I take the note from her shaking hands, putting my arm around her.

"You have five days before red is under ground," I read aloud and then check the note. It is written in red ink, possibly Archie's blood and has a date on the back in pencil. "We have three days."

"We need to go," Betty says with fear still in her eyes. "Now!"

 **Please answer: what is your favorite kind of bughead scene: comforting, sexual, adventurous or as serpent king and queen? Thanks for all the reviews! Will continue after FIVE posts!**


	57. Serpent Queen IV

**You guys are great! Hope you are enjoying! This chapter is about finding the Ranger who worked with Archie before and how to find him. Also, I hope you all have read my book: "My Socially Awkward Friends and I", available on . If you like YA or romance, you'll love it!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part IV.**

After the third knock on the door, Betty is getting angry. I watch as her blood starts to boil and she is no longer in control of herself. She bounces on her feet and then kicks at the door once, then again. The third time, she kicks the door down. She enters the room. I watch her instead of helping because I really don't want to threaten this woman. But it's empty. There is no one there.

She enters the room and stops at the logs that are in a book sitting on a small desk. The room looks normal. Other than the broken door, the room is neat, has a few personal belongings but is otherwise a normal room. She scans over the books and then turns back to me.

"Jug, this is exactly right. The last time he spoke to anyone about going out on the trails was right before she reported that he was missing. He hasn't been heard from since according to these logs," she says. She sighs and puts the books down. We both know that it is true but that we don't know how this is going to help. "We need to talk to her about anything she knows. She must have heard from him or from someone before they took him, maybe even after."

She is not making much sense but I understand why. I grab Betty's sides and pull her close. I hold onto her sides and kiss her forehead, holding her to my chest. She rests her head down on my chest. I feel her breathing, trying to calm herself down.

"We will find him, Betty," I promise.

"I know," she says, wiping her face off. We both hear something outside. I am about to go out when Sweet Pea stops at the empty space that used to be the front door.

"The ranger is here," he tells us.

I push past him, stopping right before the female ranger. She looks like she just saw a ghost. She turns to her room, trying to get past us to get inside and then looking angry when she realizes what we have done.

"What are you doing here?" she asks. "This is no place for kids. We already had one kid go missing. You all need to get the hell out of here before you're next."

"Wait. Ma'am, we have some questions," Betty says, following her no matter how far she goes. I follow the both of them into the shed shaped room where Betty questions her.

"We are going to look for Archie Andrews. Do you have any idea what happened to him or where he went? Any idea how he was hurt or who took him?" she asks.

The ranger sits down on her chair and takes her hat off, leaning back against the chair to look at us. Betty and I do not move a muscle, standing in front of her and begging her to answer.

"I know that he made a pretty terrifying call in the middle of the night. He said that they were taking him, that it was the gargoyles and that he needed help. He sounded like he was in pain," she admits.

"What kind of pain?"

"I think they were beating him, trying to get him to come with them," she says.

Betty nods. I can tell she is thinking hard about what she is going to do with this information.

"Have you seen any sign of him or any sign of the gargoyles?" Betty asks. She nods but looks around, leaning closer to us so that she is almost whispering. It is strange, almost as if she thinks that they are just around the corner, or could even hear us talking about them right now. I feel a chill run down my spine. I try to ignore it because I know that Betty feels the same fear too.

"Yes," she says. "I've heard them in the woods when I am doing my trails. I can give you the trail coordinates but I have no idea where they really are. I just know that I hear them."

"What do they say?"

"I can't understand them," she admits. "Except for one time."

"What was it?" Betty asks, getting loud. The ranger gives here a look and shushes her. Betty looks afraid, knowing that someone is listening to us. Betty leans back down toward her again.

"What happened?" she asks quietly.

"I heard them talking about the red paladin. They said something about him being around, being difficult and then they saw me. They told me that if I said anything, they would kill me. But I never saw any of them. I could just hear them in the woods. Being here, talking to you guys, I don't know what they'll say."

I nod, knowing this is getting dangerous. We can't put this woman in danger just because we have to find our friend. That is not her fault that he is wanted by a crazy gang.

"Betty," I say, putting my arm on hers. She nods, looking reluctant.

"We can still find him. We just need the coordinates of those two trails," she says. The ranger nods and then looks for them on her desk. She writes them down and hands them over to Betty. She thanks her, putting them in her pocket before leaving.

"Thank you," I say.

"You can stay in one of the empty rooms," she says. "They have one bed each but I am sure you could throw some cots down and be more comfortable than being outside. I would suggest one person staying up to watch out for them."

"Will do," Betty says. "Thanks."

She hands over the coordinates not very far from the first trail we need to get to. I don't know that I am excited about staying so close but if they see our bikes and jackets, they will know who we are. Maybe that will make them just a little more cautious. Betty and I leave, meeting the others outside. Cheryl puts her arms over chest and raises her eyebrows.

"Well?" she asks.

"There is a room we can stay in. We have the coordinates of where we need to be looking," Betty says. "We should start right away."

"We need to be careful," I add. "They are dangerous and violent. They want to kill anyone that knows what they are really doing. If you aren't comfortable with that—"

"Come on, Jones," Sweet Pea says. "We got this."

I turn to Betty. She looks out at our people and gets out her piece of paper with our mission.

"Your mission," I say. "You're up, Queen."

 **I hope you all have read my book: "My Socially Awkward Friends and I", available on . If you like YA or romance, you'll love it!**


	58. Serpent Queen V

**Thanks for the reviews! You guys are really awesome! New question: who is your favorite riverdale character? Mine: Jughead. Will post after SEVEN reviews.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part V.**

"Where the hell is he?" Betty whispers, stepping over yet another overturned log. We both manage to make it through the woods without tripping which his more than I can say about Fangs because he has been struggling. He has the stealth of a screeching orangoutang, which I did not know about or I would not have brought him onto this damn mission.

"He's here somewhere, Betty. It's almost dark. I think they come out then," I whisper back to her.

"We aren't going to find him right now," Cheryl says behind us.

"Not with your talking and Fangs stumbling around! We are making way too much noise. They know we are here now. How are we going to find Archie if they are taking him away because we are so god damn loud?" Betty demands, turning to the rest of our people. I understand her frustration but the more she yells at them, the more they do not want to listen to her.

"Alright, take a breather," I say, grabbing her arms and turning her to me. She pulls away and gets out of my grip, turning her body around. But then she kneels down, looking at something. She pulls at a leaf on the ground and pulls it away from the plant, picking it up.

"What?" I ask.

"Did you find something?" Sweet Pea asks.

"Yeah, I found a leaf with blood on it. We need to follow this trail right now," she says, dropping whatever frustration she had just seconds ago. I am glad because I hate it when she is upset, especially with me. We follow here through the woods as she searches on the ground for more blood. There is more as we travel, a little drop here and then a trail there, more and more until we get to a bunch of blood on a small clearing. There are foot prints indented in the ground, the dirt. People were here not that long ago.

"It was them," Betty says.

"How do you know?" Cheryl asks. "We should get back to the room while it's still light out and get him tomorrow. What if they are out here waiting for us, Betty? I get that you want to find him but we can't find him if were dead."

"No. We're not leaving," she says. "You can go back if you want but I can't leave him, Cheryl."

She nods her head.

"I guess we're going. If you aren't going back, I'm not either. He saved my life. I owe him this," Cheryl admits. She is right. She can't just abandon him because she is worried about the gargoyles. I am too. They could be watching us right now but that can't matter. They could have been watching us the entire time. They cold hav been watching us since we left Riverdale. We don't know.

"I found something!" Betty shouts. "Part of his shirt."

She holds up a piece of white fabric that could be anyones. But it does have blood on it.

"They were here."

I pass her and find myself stopping on the other side of the clearing, looking around us, checking out the entire area. Sweet Pea helps me for a while but we come up with nothing. The blood stopped here. They must have stopped his wound from bleeding so that they wouldn't create more of a trail.

"The trail stops, Bets," I say. "Where do you go from here?"

"This must be where they meet. The blood was dry. We could wait here, wait for them to bring him here again."

"If they see us, they won't bring him here. If they see us, they'll just let us stay here alone or they will destroy us," Toni says. "We can't stay here."

"Fine. We go somewhere else and set up for a while. Then we come back at night time. They do everything after midnight, right?" Betty asks.

I nod, putting my arm around her.

"Let's go back. Tonight we'll go back out and we'll find Archie. For right now, we need to go back," I tell her.

"This is so stupid. We are up here walking around, never knowing where to go or what to do. We have no leads. She said they were on this trail and they were, but they aren't anymore. What if we go there tonight and Archie isn't there? What if all of this is for nothing and we never find him?" I can tell her voice is starting to choke up and her face is getting red. I put my arm around her body, pulling her body closer to mine and resting my forehead on hers. She presses her lips together looking like she might cry at any second.

"Jug," she whispers. "What if he is gone forever? He is our best friend and we can't even save him from some stupid gargoyles."

"We are the Serpents. We can get Archie. We can get our friend back. This is what we do. We will get him back. If they were going to kill him, they would make it public. They would want everyone to know. If he were dead, we would know. He is still alive, Betty. We just have to get him back and bring him home. We'll be alright," I promise her, pulling her head to my chest. She rests her face there, relaxing into me. She puts her arms around me so I kiss her forehead. I don't want her to feel like this but her body is shaking.

Everything that I just said to her was true from my perspective but I don't truly believe it. What if it isn't true? What if things are worse than I thought they were? What if they don't come back tonight and we are left starting from square one all over again? Betty will be crushed.

"We can do this," I promise her.

"I know. I know we can," she says with a nod, wiping her face off and turning to our people. "I won't stop until we find Archie. I can promise you all that."

"We won't either, Betty," Sweet Pea agrees.

"Let's go back," Betty says.

On our way back, we are all silent, jogging the whole way until we reach an empty cabin. I open the door, looking around for a couple of cots. I grab some and put them on the floor with the others help. Betty sits down on the bed, putting her head in her hands.

"We should get some sleep before we go out tonight. We leave at eleven. I think that gives us enough time. Jug and I will take front. Cheryl will be hiding in the woods. Fangs I want you stay back, keep watch. Toni and Sweet Pea, both of you hide close so you can watch us and step in when things get physical," Betty tells them.

"Good idea," I tell her, sitting beside her and putting my arm around her shoulders. "Now let's go to sleep."

"No funny business," Fangs mutters.

"Wow, Fangs. We're not animals," I tell him, kicking off my shoes and grabbing Betty in my arms on the bed. She rests her head on my chest, putting her arm around my waist. She is so warm, so close to me.

"We'll find him Betty. Just a couple of hours and we'll find him," I promise.

She nods against me, closing her eyes. I brush my hand over her face, down her blonde hair and across her back. The others lay down. Fangs starts breathing heavily right away and the others are not far after. Cheryl stays outside to keep watch. I should really be the one doing it because for some reason, I can't sleep.

I feel like someone has been following us and I am pretty sure they are going to attack tonight.

 **Question: Who is your favorite Riverdale character? I will post after SEVEN reviews! Thanks guys! You guys liked mostly comfort scenes so I will be adding some more of those.**


	59. Serpent Queen VI

**Thank you guys for those very fast seven reviews and answering those questions! I am glad that most of you said Jughead and Betty because those are my fave too! I was a little surprised to see no Archie on there. I will have a little bit of Betty and Arch friendship later. What do you guys think?**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part VI.**

I sit straight up when I feel Juggie moving beside me. He tosses onto his side and then turns back to his back. When he does this, I just have to wake him up to get him out of it. I shake his shoulders a couple of times and he sits straight up, looking around the room and then back to me.

"You okay?" I ask him, rubbing circles on his back to make sure he knows nothing is going on.

He nods, looking down at the clock. It has only been two hours. Everyone else is asleep. He puts his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. I snuggle in, looking around the room.

"Why weren't you asleep?" he asked.

"I don't know. Something just felt weird," I admit. I woke up feeling like I was being watched or something. I look around the small room and then out the window right by our bed. It is as vacant as an abandoned lot. It looks totally empty to me.

"There's nothing here," I say.

He shakes his head, looking around the room too. He gets this weird look on his face where I can tell that he thinks something is wrong. He knows that someone is watching us, that something is about to happen. He presses his lips together and then sits at the edge of the bed, looking at the rest of the crew.

"Cheryl," he nudges her. "Cheryl, get up."

She shakes her long red hair and wipes her eyes, looking up at Jug.

"What?" she asks.

"We've got to go."

I put my shoes on and adjust my shirt when I stand, fixing my hair and throwing my Serpent jacket on. I grab Jugs hand, pulling him with me out of the door. Cheryl grabs her bow and throws her arrows over her shoulder. We walk together, leaving the others inside the room. I stop my Sweet Pea, who is laying against the edge of the first door and shake his shoulder softly. I make him look at me.

"We'll be right back," I say. "Just stay here and keep a look out. Listen for us."

"Should I come with you?" he asks, trying to stand up. I put my hand on his shoulder, sitting him back down.

"No. It's alright. It'll be better with just the three of us. Cheryl has our backs. Jug thinks there is someone right around us. We're going to find out who and why."

"Good plan."

Jug takes my hand, pulling me out of the shed. We close the door behind us, creating a wall between the three of us, following down the line of the shed and out into the woods. The first trail we go down leads to almost nothing for a few seconds. This doesn't feel right. I know they were watching us. This is not the right way. I make them both turn around and go back to the shed, just a few steps past, I can hear someone moving in the woods.

I take off on a spring toward the person, tackling a dark figure in a mask in the woods. I tackle him on the ground, holding him there but he is much bigger and stronger than I am.

Suddenly the quiet world around us has broken out into chaos and we are all screaming, loud, cursing at the person we are fighting against. There is a person on my back, holding my arms. I try to fight him off but I can't seem to loosen his grasp from my arms. I hear Jug struggling beside me. Cheryl does not wait for our que. She starts shooting. She shoots at the men that are holding me. One goes down and then take off running. I hear her let two more arrows loose.

There is some more running but the man that I am holding down is really trying to fight me off, scratching at my face or attempting to kick me or knee me. I manage to hold his hands down.

"Betty!" Jug shouts.

"I'm here! Here!"

Jug comes running, helping me hold the man down underneath of me. I knee him in the groin, keeping my knee there while Jug holds his hands down. Cheryl comes over and puts the tip of her arrow right between his eyes with a smile on that red lipped face.

"You might as well stop struggling," she says with a grin that makes me want to laugh at the man underneath of us.

I grab his mask and pull it off. I don't recognize the man at all. He is no more than eighteen, white and has some make up on under his eyes. He looks a little crazy but could be anyone.

"Where the hell is Archie Andrews?" I ask.

"Who?" he asks.

"I know you have him! Where the hell is Archie? If you lead us to him, we might let you live," I tell him. He does look a little afraid, like maybe he got way too far in over his head. He looks around at all three of us, finding our jackets and then leans his head back down on the ground.

"Your Serpents. He's a Serpent?" he asks.

I look to Jug.

"Yes!" Jug says.

"The tattoo," he says with a nod. "Right."

Obviously this kid has seen him but he doesn't seem to be too high up in the food chain if he doesn't even know who we are. He seems to be thinking of ways to save his own life without having to give him up but every time he comes up empty.

"Where is the Red Paladin? Tell me and I will let you live," Juggie says. It makes me uncomfortable to hear that phrase but I know it all makes more since to this guy.

"I'm a game maker. I can make your life a living hell if you don't tell me right the hell now where he is," Jug says.

I hate it when he brings that up. I can almost see the fire sparking in his eyes again. It makes my skin crawl, makes me want to run but I understand why he is doing it. He is going to get through to this gargoyle somehow.

"They have him. At night, they go to some clearing. They do a ceremony. I can't tell you what it's about."

"The mark on his hip means sacrifice. Are you going to be the ones to do it?" I ask the kid. He doesn't answer so I press harder on his leg, occluding his artery and causing him a very serious amount of pain. He groans and then calls out in pain, looking over at me.

"Alright. Yes. But since we have him, we wanted to plan him for sacrifice, prepare him, give parts of him to the game first before someone ascends by killing him," he says.

"So he's alive?" I ask.

He nods.

Archie is alive and I am going to find him.


	60. Serpent Queen VII

**You guys are so great! Any suggestions for character based or plot based AU's? I don't do anything that probably would not happen on the show or anything too out of the box. After five reviews I'll post!**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part VII.**

I pick the gargoyle up by his black shirt. Juggie takes his hands behind his back, binding them with a zip tie he has. We push him along the woods for just a few minutes until we get to the cabin. Cheryl has her bow up the entire time. She is going to shoot to kill anyone that comes after us. I am not playing around. I will get Archie back.

"Jug, go get the others," I say.

He nods and runs into the cabin to get them. The gargoyle tries to run but I yank up his zip ties, tightening them on his wrists. He calls out in pain and falls to his knees. I nod Cheryl, giving her the eyes. She points her arrow right at his head.

"Come on, now," I say, leaning down to whisper it in his ear. "I thought we were just becoming good friends."

"You're crazy," he says in a tone that is almost fearful.

"Yes, I am," I say with confidence. He is right. I am crazy. I can feel the darkness rushing through my veins, eating away at me until it is all I am and it is all I can feel.

Jug comes back with the others. They circle around us in their jackets and vests with grins on their faces, looking just as ready as I am. Sweet Pea comes over to me and puts his hand on my back, leaning down to the gargoyle.

"I see we have some fresh bait," he says with a smile.

"Yes we do."

"Let's go get Archie," Jug says.

"Lead us to him right now," I say. "You already know what will happen if you fail."

"Alright! I'll listen but I will warn you, they have at least ten people. Unless you kill them all, you are going to lose," he says.

"I'm not worried about that," I say. I am not worried because I want to threaten him. I want him to know that he is going to pay for everything that his people have done. He is going to fear us by the time we are done with the gargoyle gang. As we walk I consider what I will have to do. Archie will be no help. He will be too hurt. I will have to get Archie out and pull him into the woods, then go help the others. Cheryl will be able to shoot a couple of them to injure them before we get to hand to hand.

But before I have time to think about just how I am going to pull this all off, we are there. I can feel my hands start to shake my body get angrier by the second. Then I see them through a big clearing. The woods breaks up and there is nothing but a circle of gargoyles all around a fire with a red headed boy in the middle.

"God, Arch," I mumble.

"Will they care if we kill you?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "I don't think so," he says.

"We'll do this the hard way then," I say. I turn to Jug. "Follow my lead."

"All yours, my queen," he says, letting me lead the way. I grab my pocket knife and flip it open, holding it to his throat and wondering if I would really cut him if I had to. I walk him out into the clearing with my knife on his throat and my eyes gleaming with fire.

"Listen up gargoyles!" I shout. They all turn to me, not attacking but looking a bit confused. The rest of my gang comes out behind me, looking confident and ready to fight at any second.

"I have one of yours. You have one of mine. If you aren't interested in a trade, I'll kill you all, kill this guy and take Archie back. It's up to you. What'll it be? A fair trade or are you ready to die?" I ask.

"You dare not interrupt our sacrifice!" one of the gargoyles says. I push him forward to meet the others. They all see who he is and that I have his mask. They are coming toward us slowly but most of them stay in their same place, not wanting to leave Archie. I can't see his face, comfort him or tell him that I am going to save him.

"Make the trade, Gargoyle," I demand in a louder, much more menacing voice. I am not even sure where this voice comes from but secretly I hope that Archie heard it and that he knows we are coming for him.

"Make the trade!" I shout again.

"No. We will have none of this trade. To kill one of us is to start a war," he says.

"I killed several of you and haven't had much retaliation," Jug says with a shrug. "I'm not too concerned about it. But you should be worried because now we have you and my archer here isn't afraid to take you down. She doesn't miss."

Cheryl looks to me and then to the gargoyle that has been talking.

"One in the leg," I tell her.

She releases the first arrow, sending it right into his leg. He kneels over, holding onto his leg and starts limping toward us.

"Get them!" he shouts.

"Protect the red paladin!"

"Cheryl, shoot again!" I scream.

They are all start running, attacking, punching. Each one of them is in a fight with one or two of the others. I look over at Jug, trying desperately not to be afraid for him but I can't worry about then when the pain of knowing Archie is still hurt and can't get away from them is pecking at me. I have to get him.

"I've got Arch," I tell Jug before taking off running. I slash a man out of my way and grab another mask, pushing his face to the back of a tree and ripping off his mask. I made his nose bleed. He looks slightly afraid so I kick him in the shins, kneeing him in the stomach when he reaches over. I think he runs off when I run for Archie. He has ties around his hands and feet and tape over his mouth. There is blood in his hair and on his face. He doesn't have a shirt on and I am pretty sure his legs are bloody. Those aren't pants. They stripped him down to his underwear to torture him.

"Archie!" I shout.

When he turns to me, I can see the relief fill up his eyes in the form of water. I finally get to him, pulling the tape off of his mouth and grabbing him in a hug.

"We found you," I say. "We've got you."

 **COME ON GUYS! POST FIVE REVIEWS! I have chapters waiting but will only post after ONE MORE REVIEW!**


	61. Serpent Queen VIII

**You guys are great! Thanks for these reviews and suggestions! Please answer this: if you are following any of my other stories, which ones? What other fandoms or stories would you like to read?**

 **Thanks!**

 **This is all about that Betty and Archie friendship!**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part VIII.**

I brush my hand over his bloody face and he leans back on the ground, trying to smile but also trying not to cry at the same time. He looks terrified but also relieved. It is a hard expression to try to talk to. Instead of figuring any of it out, I make sure he is safe from the others. I hold my body over his as the fighting continues. Most of them are running but there are a few that are still fighting.

"Shit! Ow!" I hear. Jug.

I stand up, then realize I can't go to him.

"Jughead!" I shout.

He doesn't respond. I can hear him groaning but he isn't screaming so I am thinking he must be at least mostly okay. I stand in front of Archie, my mind racing with whom to assist. Instead, I bounce on my heels looking around the woods for anyone that might be able to help.

"Cheryl!" I shout. "Cheryl!"

Just a few seconds later, she runs over to me, bow in hand with her face looking untouched, though I know she was just fighting. She still comes out of everything looking flawless.

"Is Jug okay?" I ask her, trying not to sound like the concerned girlfriend when I am supposed to be the serpent queen here.

"Yeah. For now," she says. "Most of them ran off but Jug insisted on keeping one of them…I think he stabbed him."

"What? Stabbed! Jug was stabbed!" I scream. "That is not OKAY! He is okay?" Cheryl rolls her eyes and turns around, going back to the clearing and leaving me here with Archie.

"Cheryl! CHERYL! Get back here!" I scream.

She is gone.

"Serpents!" Jughead shouts. "We're all clear. The gargoyles ran off. We won this battle!"

I run toward him and then remember Archie. I see Sweet Pea sticking his head through the woods right after the clearing. I motion for him to help me. With his help we are able to help Archie stand. We each take one of his sides and he hobbles with us back to the clearing.

"It's over," I say, looking around. There is blood everywhere, including on Jug's shirt. I put my hand on his side and he winces, looking down at it and then back at me. He pulls me in, kissing my forehead.

"It's not deep," he says. "Just a cut."

I nod, trying really hard to believe him.

"We need to get back to the cabin for a while before we can make Archie travel," I say.

"You're right. They all ran off. I think they got the message. They won't be messing with us alone any time soon," Jug says. At least we don't have to worry about that.

"Back to the cabin for debriefing!" I tell the others. I get a couple of nods. Everyone follows us. We don't care about being quiet. We just start walking and don't stop until we get there. Midway, Archie starts tripping, stumbling and falling all over the place.

"Betty," Archie mumbles, holding onto my hand. "Betty, I can't stand up. My legs… they're too weak."

He starts to fall over but Jug turns around, catching him before he does a face plant.

"Hey, buddy," Jug says. "I've got you. You need to lay down."

I give Archie's shoulder over to Jughead. He grabs him under his arms and Sweet Pea lifts him up from his legs. They hold him up higher so he is just laying down in the air. Fangs comes over to help as they walk back to the cabin. I hold onto Archie's hand the entire time. I don't think that he knows he is squeezing me and I don't say anything.

Once we get back, Jug helps him lay down on the bed.

"Hey, Arch," I say, sitting down at the edge of the bed with him. He presses his lips together, not saying anything at all. He looks scared still, maybe uncomfortable or something. I can't quite understand until I see the tears in his eyes.

I look up at Jug. He nods.

"Hey, guys, clear out!" Jughead says. "We need some space."

"On it, boss," Sweet Pea says. Everyone leaves the room. I hear Cheryl complain to Toni about it but then the door is closed. Jug gets the first aid kit and opens it up on the bed, searching through it for anything that could help our friend.

"Thanks guys," Archie mumbles.

"You're welcome," I say with a smile. "Thanks for surviving until we could get you."

"Yeah, we missed you, Archie," Jug says, taking his other hand. Archie blinks and looks away when a tear falls down his face.

"You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to," I tell him. "But if you want to talk about what they did, or what you had to do to survive with them, you can tell us."

He nods.

"Thanks, Betty," he says with that Archie smile that assures me he is going to be okay.

I get a couple of bandages and start cleaning off Archie's wounds. I try not to notice his screams and moans but eventually, he doesn't want to take it anymore. He grabs my hand, squeezing it so hard that I think he is going to break my fingers. I look to Jug and nod for him to keep going. I let Archie hold my hand while Jug finishes cleaning off the gash along the side of his neck.

"They took me," Archie says behind a choked voice. "They beat me up and then they grabbed me. They tied me up. They gave me some water and some kind of weird meat one time. They did this ritual every night that I was gone. I lost track of how many times. But each of them got to do something to me. They held me over the fire…they sliced the side of my throat. They said I had to get close enough to death that I could see it but not touch it yet."

"God, Arch," I mumble, not sure what else to say. Everything just hurts so much right now. I can't imagine feeling all of that.

"We're here now, buddy," Jug says.

Archie nods.

I help him wrap up the wound on his arm and then put a bandage on his neck, one on his hip and on his side. We fix up his face a little bit and I spray burn cream on his back. Th burns aren't too bad.

"The burns should go away in a week or so," I tell him.

He nods.

"The other wounds…the one on your leg should really get stitches," I say. "But the others seem okay right now."

"I'll go to the doc when we get back. Right now…I just want to sleep. I'm so damn tired. I didn't sleep the whole time."

I'm scared for him to sleep. I don't want him to sleep in his condition.

"Hold on," I say. I grab a bottle of water from the kit and hand it over to him. "Drink this whole thing first."

Archie looks to Jug for a better answer.

"She's right," he agrees.

Archie starts drinking it and then pulls away with a sad expression. He puts the water down by the side of his head.

"I'm gonna go check on the others," Jug says, giving me a wink. He goes outside with the others. I try not to notice his limp when he does, putting his hand on his side. He uses the door to support him when he walks out.

 _He is actually hurt._

"Betty," Archie says, grabbing my hand. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Jug but I haven't really been asleep since they took me. Everything hurts and I just don't want to be alone. Could you…?"

I get what he is trying to ask, but being a boy, he can't just say it out loud.

"Stay with you?" I ask.

He nods, barely looking at me.

"I'll be right here."

I make Archie finish the water before holding his hand as he falls asleep.

 **PLEASE ANSWER THIS: What other stories of mine are you following? AND/OR What other fandoms/stories would you like to read about from me?**

 **THANKS GUYS!**


	62. Serpent Queen IX

**LAST CHAPTER! Not sure what I will do next…ideas are welcome. Thanks for following and reviewing guys!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part IX.**

I try as hard as I can not to wince. I lean back, trying to move her hand away from me. She rolls her eyes and grabs my hand, pushing my hand back down to my lap so I let her finish what she is doing, wiping the blood from the corner of my eye.

"Alright, Jug," she says. "I really think you need to go to a hospital. What if this needs stitches?"

"I was just in the hospital with Archie. I saw him get stitches. I don't plan on being near that again any time soon," I say, shaking my head. She puts the bandage down and then stares up at me.

"Can I see it?"

"Come on, Bets."

"Let me," she says, trying to lift my shirt up. I let her push my shirt up as much as she can because I really don't want to attempt to take it off over my head. She holds up the side of my shirt and grazes her fingers over the wound. I try not to flinch. I let her do it until she puts my shirt back down and goes to get something. She comes back with a bandage, first aid glue and alcohol.

"No way," I say, shaking my head and putting my arm down on my side so she can't get to it.

"Come on, Jug," she says. "It doesn't look good. You were stabbed. If you don't want another nasty scar on your already scarred body, you might want to just let me glue it back together so it can heal."

"I don't care about the scar, Betty," I tell her. I mean, I don't love the idea of getting more attention with my shirt off but I don't care because I don't want her to touch it. I don't want her to know how much it hurts.

"What if it gets infected?" she asks.

"It won't."

"Yes it will. You need to let me clean it out, glue it together and then bandage it up," she says, looking desperate. Her eyes are sad and her hands are shaking, worried for me. She has been so strong for so long. We have gotten Archie back. We've survived so much with Hiram and everyone in this damn town. I have been hurt so many times. Betty probably just wants me to be okay.

"Alright," I say with a shrug.

She turns to me and I lift my shirt up, laying on my other side. I close my eyes when she pours alcohol on it. With no warning, I grunt and bite down hard, clenching my hands into fists.

"Sorry," she says, patting away at it. She dries it off and then begins to pull the skin together on either side. She tries to sooth me through it but it sucks either way.

"Hey, Bets," I say. "Do you think Arch should be alone in his house?"

"What do you mean?" she asks. I feel her pull the skin together, pinching the sore parts uncomfortably and glueing them together. I burry my face onto my other arm, trying to forget the pain.

"He's so hurt and he can't defend himself. I don't think he should be hanging out there alone," I tell her, trying to distract myself but also being honest. I don't trust him alone in that house.

"He'll tell us that he doesn't want to leave his dad alone," she says.

"Maybe. But he can't be there," I say. "I don't trust it, Bets."

"I can bring him here, I guess."

She glues the middle. I look at it once and then decide never to do that again. I look back down at the ground, clenching my hand again and biting my lower lip. I let her finish it up, glueing the edges together, pulling the edges together.

"Betty," I mumble.

She looks up at me.

"Are you almost done?"

She nods. "Sorry."

"We could bring Archie to tent city. I mean, he would be surrounded by Serpents and the sheriff," I say with a shrug. Maybe that would be the safest place for him after all. Betty finishes up and tapes a bandage around the edges of it, covering up the stab wound. I finally let my arm back down, trying not to show much it hurts.

"Are you okay?" she asks, putting her hand on mine and pushing the first aid stuff to the side. I nod. I reach my arm around her waist. She pulls me closer, trying to pull my face toward hers. On the second try, I let her, pressing our foreheads together and looking into each other's eyes. It calms me down.

"Better," I say, taking a deep breath.

"You're sweating," she says.

I nod "That was a lot of work."

She smiles a little. "So do you think we should bring Archie to tent city?"

"Yeah. He'll be safe there. They won't go after his father. Plus, my dad is working nights for a while, which means he can have the couch and you and I…can have the bed."

She kisses me once. I get a little carried away, kissing her again and pulling her leg over me. But the moment I do, I wince, pulling my face away from hers to hide the grimace and the immediate tears. She pulls her face back to mine, holding onto me on either side.

"Sorry," I mumble.

"It's okay," she says. "We're all going to be okay."

"Maybe we should tell Archie about tent city," I tell her.

"Maybe," she says with a smile, pushing my shoulders down so I lay down across her bed with her on my lap. She pulls off her shirt, which has my brain switch gears entirely. I stare at her beauty, looking at her perfection and become lost in her again.

"Or we could give him time alone with his dad and go get him before night fall," she says with a shrug.

"Oh yeah? I can't think of anything to do with that extra time," I mumble, trying to reach for her. She hovers above me, putting her hands on either side of my head with that perfect Betty smile. She pulls her hair from her ponytail. That is always when I know I should take my pants off. Her ponytail comes out and my pants go off. It's a done deal.

"You just lay down and relax," she says with a grin. "Let me take care of you."

For the next minutes, I think of nothing but Betty and peace.


	63. Bughead Reunites

**Betty, Jughead and Veronica meet. Jughead slips through the walls of the quarantine. They meet up in the woods so no one catches them. This was a request from a guest! Thanks guys!**

 **Jughead POV.**

"Betty!" I shout. "Betty"

She comes into my view. Her face is worried and tired. I can tell she hasn't slept for a while. Her serpent jacket covering her shoulders, her hair out and her jeans as tight as ever. Somehow she managed to run here in heels, which impresses me. I don't think about much when she finds me because her eyes fill with tears and her mouth forms my name.

"Juggie!" she screams.

Her arms go out and I capture her body in my arms, holding her tight to me, lifting her from the ground and wishing we could get closer. I squeeze her so tight I might break her.

"Jughead," she says into my shirt. I hold her close until her head looks up at me. I brush the tears from her face. She has been crying but there are circles under her eyes.

"When was the last time you slept?" I ask her.

She shrugs.

"I was busy taking care of the Serpents while you were gone," she says with a smile. I can tell she is trying to make me feel better about leaving her here. But it doesn't. It makes me feel worse. Actually, I think my stomach is twisting in knots. I never let my hand leave her waist.

"I've missed you," I tell her. "And I don't think you even know when the last time you slept was."

She rolls her eyes. I grab her face, making her look at me.

"Betty," I say. "Your eyes. Wait a second. How much adderall have you taken?"

"Not much," she says, looking away from me. All I have to do is stare at her for her to know that I know she is lying. "Alright, it was a lot. I had to stay up. I still had school and trying to figure out how to get you in here and avoiding Hiram and leading the Serpents on my own. Jug, I was busy I was just trying to get things done."

"No," I say. I hold her hand tight so that she has to look at me. But she looks sad, almost like she is about to be far away. "You can't do that, Betty. We need you to be around and awake for a long time. What we don't need is for you to be high."

"I'm not high," she says. "Believe me."

"You can't do that," I tell her.

"I know. I know. You're right. I knew it at the time too but I just felt so overwhelmed. I knew I needed something," she says.

"You can have me," I say. "If you need something, have me."

Just then I hear the woods rustle around us. Then there they are. Veronica, Sweet Pea, Fangs, Cheryl, Toni, Glue, and Reggie. They walk up to us, greeting us both. We talk to them for a while, catch up on what Betty has been doing and how she has been leading.

"What the hell were you thinking leaving her here, Jug?" Sweet Pea says. I think he is trying to make fun of her rule and then realize that he is being protective of her. He cares about her.

"What?" I ask.

"She has been so tired, doing everything she can to help us and figure out what is really going on around here."

"Going on?" I ask. "What are you talking about?"

"The quarantine is because more of us had seizures," Veronica says.

"Wait? You too?" I ask.

"Practically the entire cheerleading squad. All but Cheryl," she says, looking over to Toni. This many people have had seizures all because of Hiram? Something that Penelope is doing because of Hiram? What is going on here and how they hell are they accomplishing it? I don't understand any of this. But I left Betty alone in it.

What is wrong with me?

"Toni," I say. "You had one too?"

"Yeah. It wasn't great," she says, putting her hands in her pockets and looking down at the ground. Cheryl puts her arm around her girlfriend. I guess I would have become more protective too if I would have known about my girlfriends seizure sooner.

"Betty, did you?" I ask, grabbing her hand. She shakes her head, putting her hand to my face the way she always does when she tries to get me to pay attention to her.

"No," she says. "I would not have lied about that."

"But you lied about the adderall," I whisper to her.

"I won't lie," she says, dropping her hand from my face. "I promise."

"We need to figure out what is going on around here," I say to the others. "Now that I'm back we're going back to figuring out what is happening here. We need to know who is behind this, why girls are having seizures and who is behind all of this. Veronica, do you think your dad—"

"Could be behind all of this?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't know anymore. I think he is connected to the gargoyle king but to be honest, I don't see how he could be causing seizures. It's not like they're contagious and he doesn't have the ability to get to all of those girls, especially at different times."

She's right.

"Fine," I say. "He has something to do with it but maybe not directly."

I think it over but come up with nothing.

"Alright. We meet tomorrow night again. I'll give you each your missions then. Until then…everyone needs to get some rest." I look to Betty. "I think we could all use it."

When they are gone, walking in front of us, I grab Betty in my arms and have her walk with me toward the city.

"Do you think anyone will notice?" she asks.

"No. My dad stayed on the other side for a while," I say. "But I'm sure he'll be over soon. You and I can stay at the trailer tonight…alone."

She gives me a small smile.

"No more adderall, Betty. You're scaring me with that stuff and no more keeping things from me either. I told you in the beginning of the year that we are in this together," I say. "I meant it. That means we don't keep anything from each other."

"Alright," she says, nodding. "You're right. We should get back to the trailer. I think I'm going to fall asleep standing up."

"Come on, Bets. I'll take care of you."

 **Short one shot but I hope you all enjoyed it! I am looking to do more Jughead and Archie friendship and Archie and Betty friendship but don't have a lot of ideas. We'll see what I can come up with! Not Veronica's biggest fan so I almost never put her in stories.**


	64. Jughead Birthday Part I

**Betty has a birthday event for Jughead. Going off of his statement from his last bday: "PTSD from when I was a kid." Why doesn't Jug like his birthday?**

 **(Also: It's my birthday so I thought I'd post about Jug's birthday.)**

 **Jughead POV.**

" _FP, could you put the boos down for five seconds so we can have a good birthday for our son!" Mom yells._

 _I look over to Jellybean. She is staring down at the lame chocolate cake Mom made. No icing. No filling. No candles. Just a cake sitting in the center of the table and a box of Chinese in the corner. Yeah, happy thirteenth birthday to me._

" _Oh, relax," Dad says, pushing my moms hand out of his face and taking his beer back from her. I try to control the shaking of my hands. I clench my hands into fists as my mom puts a plate in front of me._

" _Happy birthday, Jughead," she says._

"Jug? Juggie? Are you okay?" Betty asks beside me. I shake my head, realizing I wasn't here.

"Betty, you'll never believe it but I think I'm having flashbacks from my demonic past," I say, shivering beside her. "It's chilling, Bets. I wish I could have one birthday without remembering what happened as a kid."

Her hand brushes over my bare arm and then down my chest. I look into her beautiful eyes as she travels her fingers along almost every inch of my body until they stop in my hair. It gives me the kind of chills that actually make me happy. I lean into her gentle touch. Betty smiles and takes my hand in hers, biting her lower lip.

"This is your day," she says. "What do you want to do?"

"You…again," I say, kissing her lips. She pulls away just a little, keeping that innocent smile on her face that I know how to get rid of in an instant. Sometimes it makes me smile because I know things about her no one else does. I know her more than anyone.

"You already did me," she says, half joking. "Three times this morning. But it's almost noon. What else do you want to do today?"

I shrug as she gets out of bed, resting my hands behind my head as I watch her bare body cover up in a pink skirt, a grey shirt with my crown on the front. She takes a brush to her hair, turning around to face me as she fixes it. I don't really care what she does as long as I get to watch.

"I love you, Betty," I say.

She gives me the most perfect smile in the world: the one that I fell in love with.

"I love you too," she says, setting her hair brush down.

" _We love you!" Mom shouts._

 _I haven't heard that since my last birthday, which is awkward and strange. I don't even know how to react to that. What do I say? When was the last time Mom truly said that to me and meant it?_

" _Eat up! Look at this great Chinese food we have! Jug's favorite!" Dad says._

" _My favorite is burgers and milkshakes," I say. "With Betty and Archie. But this is great."_

 _I try to ignore the look I get from my mom as she eats the food. We have two cartons. This is barely enough for a snack, much less an entire meal. I eat it anyway, realizing this is probably the only food I am going to have today. Dad drinks an entire beer and then opens another one._

" _Can I be excused?" Jellybean asks._

" _No! Of course not. You can stay here with your brother until we have the cake and give him his present!" Mom says with a smile that is so fake I can actually hear the tremor behind her voice, waiting for it to crack and shatter out in front of me. Why does everything have to be so god damn scary?_

" _It's okay," I say with a shrug. "Jellybean can go," I assure._

" _No. She can stay here with us and with you, Jug. This is your birthday and your sister should be here like the rest of us are," Mom says._

 _Dad slams his beer on the table with a laugh so loud I actually jump up. I lean back in my chair, looking over at him to realize that he did not even notice._

" _Just one big happy family!" Dad says._

"Seriously, Jughead," Betty says. "We should go somewhere, do something special."

"Having sex is special," I say with a grin, squeezing her now clothed shoulder. I pull on the crown on the front of her shirt with a grin that I cannot hide.

"Not what I meant," she says.

"I love it when you wear this shirt," I tell her.

"I know. That's why I wore it."

Betty reaches over to her nightstand, which I guess is partially mine now too and she grabs my hat, putting it on my head and fixing my hair with it, which I find adorable. She has an uncanny ability to make me happy no matter the circumstances.

"I want to tell you something," I say.

"What is it?" she asks.

I clear my throat to get ready to explain because I really don't want this to go like my last birthday did. Though I had some of my best lines, I pushed Betty away because I was being scared and selfish. I can't do that now. We aren't as different as I thought we were but I think I could still manage to hurt her.

"Last year, I freaked out on my birthday and you forgave me," I say.

"Of course, Jug. You explained it. You told me it was because you were scared that I was doing something nice," she says with a nod, putting her hand to the side of my face as she always does.

"It wasn't just that," I tell her. She listens.

 _Dad flips his beer over. Oh god no. It spills all over the table, some on my cake and getting onto Jellybean's lap. She jumps up, grabbing a towel from the stove and brushing it on herself. Dad doesn't clean it up. He turns back to the fridge and grabs another one, as if it never happened._

" _Do you want to fix any of this, JP? I mean, we still need to do the cake and the presents!" Mom shouts._

" _We don't have presents!" Dad shouts. "We have a hand me down tee shirt you wrapped in newspaper and a box of pens you stole from a hotel lobby!"_

 _I wouldn't have expected anything more but I also didn't think that anyone would say it out loud. Every year we pretend like nothing is wrong and act like our family is perfect. Mom is still trying to do that but Dad is too drunk to realize what day it is or what he is supposed to act like. Jellybean is just caught up in it all and I am the center of it, the reason for the chaos._

" _FP, let's just clean this up," Mom says, putting a towel on the floor and wiping up the beer. I don't move. I can't move. I sit still, staring at the cake with the beer that is soaking up the bottom and the newspaper wrapped presents that are getting wet too. Instead of moving, I look down at the floor._

" _Jughead," Mom says, grabbing my face and making me look at her. "I can fix this. This is going to be a great birthday."_

"It was that everything in my life was bad and terrible except for when I was off on adventures with you guys," I explain, trying to smile. She looks afraid. "But then there was this day where we all sat around the dinning room table and pretended that we liked each other, or that we even liked my birthday. It was awful. Dad drank. Mom tried to fix it. Jellybean was caught up in the mess and I was the center." My voice cracks with pain so I clear my throat again. "I was the reason for all of it. I was the reason for the hate and the chaos."

"You think that it was your fault your family treated you badly?" she asks, brushing her hand under my face.

"Yeah," I say.

"Why?"

"Because I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in and I don't want to fit in," I say.

Betty grabs the side of my face and kisses me hard on the mouth. I grab her around her waist and pull her over me, holding onto her body. She pulls her shirt back off and kisses me more than before.

"And I love that about you," she says. "Whatever you want to do today, whatever you want to talk about, it's all up to you. We don't have to celebrate or we can or we can go to Pop's or stay here or make love all day. Whatever you want, it's yours."

 **I'm looking for a couple reviews before I post. I want to know what you guys think of this one!**


	65. Jughead Birthday Part II

**Jughead and Betty continue his day and his flashbacks. Yes, Betty and Jug are living together. This goes along with what is already happening in season three, as if it's right in the middle of what's going on. (This will be four parts).**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part II.**

"We should get to Pop's," I say, fixing my pants when I realize I look ridiculous.

"Just ten minutes ago you were talking about how you wanted to hang out here all day and now we are dressing up in the best clothes we have and going to Pop's," she says with a smile. "I like this."

"Hey, it was more than ten minutes," I say as she adjusts her dress. I lean over to help her zip it up the rest of the way.

I adjust the suspenders and then try to fix the bowtie but it feels dumb and looks it too. Betty comes over, fiddling with everything that I just tried to fix. But I am sure that it will look much better when she is done with it. It makes me feel much better when she does it.

"Thanks," I mutter.

She reaches up and kisses me once.

"This is really what you want?" she asks.

"Yes," I say. "I promise."

" _Is this what you want?" Dad asks. "A perfect damn day with a perfect family! Oh yeah! This is great, Gladys!"_

" _Just sit down so that we can have a nice dessert!" she shouts back._

 _Both of my parents sit down at the table on either side. Jellybean has a tear running down her face. I reach over and put my hand on her knee. She looks at it and then tries to scoot away because she knows the truth. She doesn't want my comfort because I am the one who caused this. I am the problem here._

 _If I were never born, none of this would have ever happened. What is wrong with me? Why do they hate me?_

 _Mom cuts the cake and hands out pieces._

" _There is beer soaked into the bottom of mine," Jellybean says. I take it away from her and give her mine, smiling when I give it to her. She starts eating it but I wonder if she really wants to. She doesn't seem very happy about it. I take a bite and fight the urge to put it back out. It tastes awful and it's soggy. There is definitely something wrong with this one._

" _This isn't right," Dad says, spitting his out onto the plate and then throwing the cake on the floor._

" _What are you doing? It's fine! It's great! Just eat it or don't!" Mom says. "I am sure it's fine. Right Jughead?"_

 _I nod._

" _Right."_

Betty holds onto my back tightly as we turn onto Pop's parking lot. We park the bike and I help her off, holding onto her hand all the way in. Archie and Veronica are already there. Then there is Sweet Pea and my dad. That's it and that is more than enough.

"Just for a little while," I whisper to Betty.

"Whatever you want," she assures again.

I love her so much it hurts sometimes. When she tells me that, she really means it. She doesn't want me to do anything that I don't want to and that is the perfect day.

"This is perfect," I say, sitting down in our regular booth. Betty sits beside me, putting her hand to my leg, always connected to me somehow, which makes me feel good.

"I love you," I whisper in her ear, kissing her cheek.

"The usual for the birthday boy?" Pop asks.

I nod.

"Great! It'll be right up!" he says and then turns to Betty. "A vanilla shake and chicken tenders?"

"You know it, Pop," she says.

He was right about it being right up. We get our food within minutes. It's so good and salty and I take down every lick of it. Betty beside me, laughing and smiling as we exchange stories, feel happiness between us all. The best part about it is that no one is talking about my birthday. No one is saying that it needs to be special or that it has to be perfect. No one is yelling at someone else to make it perfect. We are all just enjoying our moments together and it feels so good.

"Hey! I have a toast!" Sweet Pea says, ruining my ideals of not talking about my birthday. It makes me uncomfortable. I grab Betty's hand under the table. She squeezes it, not looking to me so that no one on the outside knows. We squeeze the others hand for a long time.

" _Here's a toast!" Dad says, holding his beer up. "To Jughead! The kid that got us out of high school thirteen years ago."_

 _Wow, dad. Thanks._

" _This piece has beer in it too," Jellybean says, picking up her last bite._

" _It's fine," Mom says._

" _It's better that way," Dad says with a grin. "Don't worry, Jellybean. We will get you something just as special when it comes time for your birthday. But this is all about Jughead and how great of a kid he is…a little weird and we might not understand him, but he's ours!"_

 _Not understand me? They don't know a single god damn thing about me. They just know I am different. To them that is a bad thing. Different means I don't want to live in a crappy trailer and raise children at sixteen years old. Yeah, thanks for those morals too, Dad._

" _Now for the presents!" Mom says._

"To Jughead! The king!" Sweet Pea says.

"Short and sweet," I whisper to Betty, holding up my mostly empty milkshake to the rest of them and clinging our cups together.

"See? Not so bad," Betty says with a grin.

She's right. These are my real friends. They know what I want and what I need from my birthday.

"I think it's time to go to the next place, Betty," I tell her.

She nods, slapping her hands on the table.

"Pop?" she asks. "Can we get the check? I'm treating Jug to his birthday lunch."

"Oh, I didn't agree to that," I protect.

Pop shrugs. "Doesn't matter. It's on the house for you, Jughead."

Betty turns to me with a smile and then back to the group of friends that she has brought here for me. An hour of talking and laughing with everyone else is perfect for me. I have another idea in mind.

"Well, Jug and I have another event to get to," she says, standing up and taking me with her. I grab her hand.

"Thank you guys for coming," I say. "This was great."

And I actually mean it.

"What now?" Betty asks as I lead her out of Pops with my arm around her shoulders.

"Two words," I say. "Double feature."

 **Thanks guys! One more part to this little event! Hope you guys enjoy it! Reviews are welcome and appreciated!**


	66. Jughead Birthday Part III

**Thanks for the love! Jughead and Betty go to a double feature and then head back home.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part III.**

" _Come on, kid," Dad says, grabbing my arm and pulling me back away from the door. I try to get away but he pulls me back harder than before._

" _What?" I beg._

" _Just stay here. Your mom made you this great food and then we had a cake…you should stay here and watch some tv with your old man. Maybe play around with Jellybean for a bit," he says. I thought this was my birthday and therefor, I got to decide what I wanted to do. And this is definitely not it. I can't stay here and pretend everything is fine for a second longer._

" _Thirteen," Dad says, with a grin that is actually starting to creep me out. "What a big kid. Ya know, I didn't know we'd get this far, Gladys."_

" _Great, FP. Thanks," she says with a shrug and then turns back to me. "You can go if you want."_

" _Dad says I should stay here. I don't mind if that's what you all really want," I say. But that's not true. I do mind. I don't want to be here with a family that is never okay just because they want me to. I don't want to abandon Jellybean but I can't handle it anymore._

" _Yeah! He should stay!" Dad shouts._

" _Or he can go to the movies with Archie," Mom suggest with a smile that I know will break the second I leave and we will all go back to the family that we were yesterday or every other day, except when it's my birthday._

" _I'm just gonna go," I say and run out the front door. I grab my bike and start riding off, trying not to listen to the sounds of my father yelling or Jellybean crying._

"This is going to be so great! It's been forever since I've seen this movie!" Betty exclaims beside me. I lean down and hold her hand, interlocking our fingers, remembering how good it feels to be loved.

She leans her head on me as we walk into the theater, popcorn and drink in hand. I sit down beside her, trying to keep her hand in mine the entire time. Eventually she tries to pull it away to get some of the popcorn on my knee but I squeeze it, giving away my feelings.

"What is it?" she asks, making me look at her.

I shrug.

"Jug," she says, nudging me. "Isn't this what you wanted? Just the two of us eating popcorn and watching a double feature?"

"Definitely," I say. "This is perfect, Bets."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I was just thinking…when I was thirteen and my parents were fighting and I ran out of the house to go to a double feature with Archie. But they were still fighting when I left and maybe—"

Betty kisses me. I know what she is trying to do but I don't care. I kiss her back, pulling her as close as she can get as I kiss her more. Finally, she pulls away with a blush and a smile on her face that could make any man happy but since it's for me, it makes me the happiest man on earth.

"I love you," I tell her.

"I love you too," she says. "You don't have to think about that now. You're here now. Your family isn't fighting and we're fine, Jug."

She's right. I should stop dwelling on that and just enjoy watching some movies with the best girlfriend ever. I lean closer to her, putting my closest arm around her body. She rests her head on my shoulder and plays with my thumb as the first movie begins.

 _Rumble Fish_ and _The Outsiders_ double feature. I love a good Matt Dillon movie.

 _I ride my bike so fast that by the time I am at Archie's house I am sweating through my jacket. I throw my bike on the lawn and knock on the front door. Archie answers with that classic smile on his face that always seems to make things not so bad._

" _Hey," he says. "The movie doesn't start for another hour."_

" _Yeah, I know," I say with a shrug._

" _Things bad at home?" he asks. I try not to answer. I don't really want to answer but if there is anyone in the world that I can talk to this about, it's him. I give him another shrug but he knows the real answer so he opens the door for me to come in._

" _Come on, Jug," he says. "Let's raid the kitchen."_

 _He doesn't mention my birthday. He doesn't say anything about it. I know he knows it is but he doesn't want to make me uncomfortable, which is nice. So we sit down in his kitchen, eating leftover pizza and laughing about some stupid joke that we saw on tv last night and it's perfect. But when the silence comes and I realize that I'll have to go back home eventually, it hits me hard._

" _What's going on?" he asks._

" _They're just jerks," I say with a shrug but he knows it is so much more than that. It's stupid but all of the sudden I really feel like crying on my birthday._

" _What'd they do?" he asks._

" _Ordered Chinese food. Not enough for four people and then pretended like it was some grand meal," I say._

" _You love Chinese food."_

" _They didn't even order orange chicken, dude. It was awful," I say. "Then my dad spilled his beer all over the cake that didn't even have icing on it in the first place! I mean, what is up with this birthday?"_

 _Archie actually starts laughing and it makes me angry. What the hell is he laughing about when I am having the worst birthday ever? He realizes in my expression that I am pissed at him and tries to fix it._

" _Dude! Your dad spilled beer on the cake! That would have to be hilarious! Come on, you have to admit that was funny!" he says, throwing his head back._

 _Instead of crying, I feel like laughing too._

 _So I laugh with him and it isn't so bad. Not so bad at all._

"I love that movie but I think the reason behind the black and white vs color is too advanced even for the makers to understand," Betty says beside me. I don't get it but that is because I am not listening. I am just watching her. I am watching her lips move, her eyes look at me and her hair never out of place. I am watching everything about her and it makes me fall in love so much further than I thought possible.

"You make everything so perfect," I promise her.

She leans over and kisses me. There is just enough time to stretch and get more popcorn before the next movie starts. This is the one I really wanted to see today. Everyone loves a good rumble and maybe a good quote here and there too.

"Every writers dream," Betty says, putting her head against my chest.

"Definitely," I agree, holding her close. "Hey, you want to go home after this?"

"It's your birthday, Jug," she says. "Whatever you want."

 **ONE MORE INSTALLMENT LEFT. Thanks for the followers and reviews. You guys are great.**


	67. Jughead Birthday Part IV

**Last part of Jughead's birthday! Hope you guys are enjoying it!**

 **Thanks!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part IV.**

Betty has made this day more amazing than I could ever imagine. I had no idea that this was her plan.

"It's your birthday, Jug…whatever you want," she says again, against my ear this time. I grab her around her waist and pull her close to me. We kiss for a long time. I put my hands under her shirt and start to peel it off of her body.

"Jughead," she whispers.

"What? What is it?" I ask, pulling away from her but keeping my trembling hands on her waist.

"It's your birthday…what do you want?" she asks.

What do I want? Her. Anything that she is going to give to me. But mostly, I want her right here, right now. I pull her shirt off and look down at her beautiful body. She is so gorgeous. I reach over and grab her hand, putting it closer to my pants than before.

"Betty," I mumble.

"Anything you want," she says again.

"You know what I want," I beg of her.

Betty gets down on her knees and unbuttons my pants. My hand finds her hair just as I can't think about anything but her mouth.

 _"_ _Hey Juggie!" Betty says, walking into Archie's. "What are you guys up to?"_

 _"_ _Well Jug's dad was being a jerk and it's—" Archie starts._

 _"_ _No big deal cause we were about to go to Pop's," I finish for him. I do not want him telling Betty about my birthday. No one else can know. Just him and me. I wish my parents didn't even know. Sometimes I wish my dad were too drunk to remember. So far, this birthday is a total disaster. I do not need Betty trying to fix it or make it better by doing something that I will hate even more._

 _Plus, she probably doesn't care anyway._

 _Betty nods and leans on the counter closer to us. I never noticed before but she is growing up. I try not to stare at her but her blonde hair has a little curl on the edge of her face, where her ponytail is not perfectly straight and the pink shirt she is wearing shows more than I thought she had. I lean closer to her. Her smile makes me feel a little better. She catches my eyes and gives me a smile that makes me feel a little bit safer, like my parents might not actually be the end of the world to me._

 _"_ _Can I join you guys?" she asks, talking about Pop's again. I forgot we were even going to go there._

 _"_ _Of course," Archie says with a grin. I never know what is going on between those two but at least right now, we are all best friends, just feeling good. I thought Archie made me feel better, a little bit like I didn't have to worry about anything. But Betty makes me feel like there is nothing to worry about in the first place._

 _"_ _It wouldn't be the three musketeers without you," I tell her. I pull on her. She follows, coming with us toward the door._

 _"_ _Want to walk or take bikes?" Archie asks._

 _"_ _Walk," I say._

 _"_ _Yeah, so Jug can somehow work up more of an appetite than he probably already has," Betty jokes._

"Betty!" I shout, finally coming down from my high.

Betty turns to me, taking my head on her shoulder and putting her hands in my hair as I catch my breath. We stand there for a few seconds, holding onto each other and laying close. She starts brushing her fingers on my back calmly. It's soothing in a way that I didn't know I needed.

"Happy birthday, Jug," she says.

I want to thank her for being with me that way but then decide that she would tell me not to and that she wants to and that she loves making me feel good just like she does every time I try to thank her for that particular act. It makes me smile.

"I love you," I whisper.

I can feel her smile against my bare shoulder. I don't remember how my shirt came off. Then again, I don't remember how my pants came off either so I guess it doesn't matter.

"I love you too," she says.

"I want to be with you," I tell her, pulling away so that I can put my head to hers. Our foreheads fall against each other and we look at each other, breathing heavily, waiting for the other to make a move. I have been with Betty for a long time but every time we have sex, it's almost surprising how good it feels.

 _"_ _Jughead! Betty! Archie!" Pop shouts with a grin. "This is great! I am so glad to see you all in here again! How long has it been?"_

 _"_ _Just a week, Pop," Archie says with a smile._

 _We sit down in our usual booth. I slide in to the end of it. Normally, I prop my legs up and Betty sits with Archie on the other side. But not today. Betty smiles and sits next to me. I try not to think much of it but I can't help it._

 _She makes me feel better._

 _"_ _I'm guessing we'll have a couple of shakes?" Pop asks._

 _"_ _And a burger, fries and some onion rings, Pop," I tell him._

 _"_ _Of course," he says. "What about you, Betty?"_

 _"_ _Maybe a chicken sandwich," she says._

 _"_ _Great."_

 _Archie is making his order, deciding between two things but I don't care. I am not looking at him. I can't even hear him. I am looking at Betty Cooper. The innocent, beautiful, girl next door. The girl to our boy trio. The dependable girl that we can count on for a good reasonable suggestion or idea. But the same girl that is not afraid to go skinny dipping at the swimming hole with us. The same Betty Cooper who always seems to make us calm._

 _"_ _Jug! Jughead!" Pop says a few times. I hadn't even realized that he was talking to me. I turn to him, trying not to look awkwardly at him when I realize that I was just staring at Betty, our best friend._

 _"_ _Yeah?" I ask._

 _"_ _What kind of milkshake today?"_

 _"_ _I'm feeling chocolate today, Pop," I agree._

 _Then Pop is gone, going to put in our order. We all start talking about movies or something silly but it doesn't really matter what we are talking about because as long as we are all here, at this booth, talking at all, I am okay._

 _I am going to be okay as long as I have Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper at my side. And maybe with Betty…I might be more than okay._

Betty falls onto my chest. Her lips brush against my neck. I hold my arms around her naked body, keeping her close. I run my hand down her back and in her sweaty hair. It makes me smile to hear her heavy breathing against me. This is what I wanted for my birthday. The love of my life in my arms.

"Betty," I say.

"Hm?" she says against me.

She adjusts herself so that her head is on my chest and her hand is resting on my side.

"I have one more request," I say. "If that's okay."

"Anything you want, Jug," she promises. "It's yours."

"It's kind of a big deal," I say.

"What is it?"

She smiles and leans against me, putting her forearms on my chest so that she can see my expression. I must look nervous but I don't know why. I just thought of it and decided that it needed to come out. I have had her in my life for as long as I can remember and I think it needs to stay that way forever.

"Betty Cooper," I whisper. "I want you and I to stay together forever."

She smiles, gives a short laugh and then nods.

"What?" I ask.

"Oh, Juggie," she says. "Of course we will."

 **Please write some reviews. I have a one shot waiting that you all will enjoy!**

 **Happy birthday Jughead! Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks!**


	68. Bughead Living Together

**Jug has a nightmare while Betty and Jug are living together in the Jones's new house (Cooper's old house).**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Please give reviews. We're getting very few these past couple of posts but I still have A LOT of readers!**

 _Worthless._

 _Stupid._

 _Smells weird._

 _Weirdo._

 _Ugly._

 _Never gets a girl._

 _"_ _Come on, Jug," Betty says, holding out her hand. The sight of her is strange. Why would she be in tent city right now? She doesn't have her jacket on. She is wearing a pink shirt. Her hair is back in her ponytail._

 _"_ _Choose me, Jughead," she says._

 _"_ _What do you mean?" I beg. "Of course I do."_

 _"_ _No, Jug. You chose the Serpents over me."_

 _"_ _What are you talking about?" I ask again, trying to take her her. She pulls it away. That hurts more than she could possibly imagine. I try to reach for her again and she steps away from me. Then I feel like I'm dying._

 _"_ _Please," I beg._

 _I don't care how bad it sounds. I can't have her pulling away from me. I need her. I need her to be close to me. Why is she pulling away from me? What is she talking about? Why does she look faded…like she is fading._

 _"_ _You're such an idiot!" Archie yells. I turn around to find him standing behind me. His arms are crossed over his chest and he looks determined, maybe even angry._

 _"_ _She doesn't want to see you anymore," Archie says._

 _No. Oh god not again. He can't do this. They can't do this to me. I love her. I need her with me._

 _"_ _Why would you say that?" I ask him._

 _"_ _You know it's true. You know you aren't good enough for her. You never have been," Archie says._

 _I know. But I thought I was going to earn it. I thought I could try to earn her love. She does love me. She told me. She showed me. I know she does. Why does it feel so god damn empty? I can feel my lip quivering like it always does without my control. I bite it so hard that I can taste blood._

 _I turn back to Betty._

 _"_ _Betty," I say. "I am not choosing the Serpents over you. You're the Serpent Queen. I wanted you to be a part of us. You are a Serpent. I choose both of you. You're one of us! I am one of you!"_

 _"_ _No, Jug," she says._

 _She is fading away, even further than before. She is falling away from me. And suddenly Archie is on the other side of her. He is behind her and she is fading away from me and toward him._

 _"_ _Jughead," Betty says. "Hold onto me."_

 _"_ _I'm trying," I beg, grabbing at her hand. I try to reach for her again but she is so faded I can't see her anymore. Then she is gone. And I am left in the middle of tent city…alone._

"Jughead! Jughead! Jug! Come on! It's okay! It's okay! Open your eyes! I'm here! Juggie!"

Juggie.

It's Betty.

"Betty?" I ask.

Then she comes into view. Betty is sitting in the bed next to me. She has on a pink tee shirt and her hair is out against her shoulders, like she was just asleep. She has her hands on either side of my face, trying to make me look at her. Her sleepy but frightened face comes into view. She is terrified. Her hands are shaking as they hold my face but her body is still weak as she tries to hold up my ever fading strength.

"Betty?" I ask again.

"Yes," she says. "I'm here. I'm okay. Everything is fine, Juggie. You're okay."

"Okay?" I ask.

"Yes."

"You didn't leave me?" I ask her, still feeling confused. I know I saw her walk away from me. Archie even told me that I wasn't worthy of her love and she agreed with him. She just left me there. But now she is here in my bed? She is here in our bed? We're together?

Oh my god. It was a dream.

"I was dreaming?" I ask.

"Yes," she says, nodding and sounding slightly relieved. She lets herself sigh and lean her forehead against mine.

"I love you," she says.

"I love you too," I tell her in a trembling voice. She pulls away quickly and wipes her hand underneath of my eyes. I hadn't realized that I was crying. But god, I feel so relieved that I don't even care.

"What happened?" she asks. "Are you okay?"

"Much better now that I know I was dreaming," I agree. I lay back on the pillows, realizing that I must have sat up when I jolted awake. She puts her hand on the side of my face and in my dark, thick hair as she lays beside me, always touching and staying close.

It makes the shaking better.

"What was it?" she asks.

"You left me," I say.

"I would never leave you," she says.

"I know," I agree. "I believe you. But it was Archie too. He said the same thing he said when you sent him to break up with me. Then you said that I was choosing the Serpents over you and you started fading away. Every time I reached for you, you would pull away."

Betty looks sympathetic and really sad. She holds out her hand.

"Reach for me now," she says.

I do, trusting and she grabs my hand, taking me closer.

"I'm not going anywhere," she says.

"Do you feel like I'm choosing the Serpents over you?" I ask.

She shrugs.

"Wait. What?" I demand.

"No. Not over me. But you have been spending a lot of time with them without telling me and without including me in it. I know that we're partners but sometimes you think things are too dangerous or you just do them so that I don't have to deal with them," she says.

I have been worried about her lately but I didn't realize that she noticed I was making sure to keep her out of the dangerous parts.

"I'm just worried," I admit.

"We're a team, Jug," she reminds me.

She is right. I did promise her that we were a team and that we would work together. That means that I have to hold up that bargain. I have to include her more. She deserves it and actually, I want her closer.

"Good idea," I admit. "I'll make sure your there when I make decisions."

"Thank you," she says. "But don't worry, Jug. You weren't excluding me that bad. I'm not going to leave you."

I nod, trusting.

She runs her hand over my arm and then down my back as we lay together. It starts to feel better, more relaxed and I can finally lean into the mattress underneath of me and into Betty.

"How did you get out of it?" she asks.

"Um…you said Juggie," I admit.

She smiles.

"You were screaming. I didn't know what to do so I just kept talking. I'll remember that," she says.

"Hopefully that won't ever happen again," I say.

"Hopefully," she agrees. "Do you feel better now?"

"Much. Let's go back to sleep," I tell her. I pull her close to my body and close my eyes, feeling forever safe with Betty in my arms.

 **Let's get some reviews! Thanks!**


	69. A Bad Day for Bughead

**Another One-shot. Betty comes home to Jug and Jellybean after the last episode where Jug had to save her. She doesn't know much about it. They talk and Jug is relieved to see her.**

 **Side note: I think it was weird that Betty was at Veronica's this last episode when it's clear that her room was not changed at all and she still lives there with Jughead too. But anyway…just met Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa. They're so great! Cole was super nice and wanted to talk to people a lot. He was also quite the performer!**

 **Jughead POV.**

A key rattles in the door before it opens. I decide to wait to see who it is until that person comes upstairs. I can't leave her side. Jellybean doesn't know it but I have been standing in her doorway since she fell asleep a while ago. I can't leave her here. I thought she was dead. I really thought she was going to be dead.

Damn that hurts.

"Juggie?"

Betty.

I turn around to find her sad, scared expression standing before me. There are tears on her perfectly warn face. I grab her, wrapping my arms around her body and pulling her head to my chest. I don't know what's wrong but I am just glad she is here.

"Thank god you're here," I whisper.

I try to focus on every part of her to calm myself down. Her head is against my chest. Her body is pressed against mine, keeping me warm. Her strong arms are around my body, holding me right back. She is holding on pretty tight, but I don't mind. I think I am squeezing her pretty hard too. I didn't realize how badly I needed her all day until she showed up just now. But now, I lean my head down to her shoulder, letting her hold me up just as much as I am holding her.

After a while, I can still feel how upset she is and I have to know why.

"I'm so glad you're here," I say. "I thought you were spending the night with Veronica."

She shakes her head.

"I had to see you," she says.

"I had to see you too. You have no idea, Bets. It's been so bad," I mutter into her hair. She pulls away, holding onto my hand.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

I pull her back so that I can look into her eyes when I tell her. I lean against the doorframe and look in on Jellybean. She is still asleep, her hair falling around her face and her shoulders hunched over. She is such a kid. Why does she insist on being so old? She has no idea how young she really is to me.

"Why are you standing outside of Jellybean's door?" Betty asks, trying to smile. "It's a little weird, Jug."

"Yeah," I say. "Well after today's events, I'm not letting her out of my sight."

"Events?" she asks.

She is going to hate me for not telling her all of this. She is going to freak out and tell me that I should have gotten her involved and I will have to tell her that I love her and that I needed her to be safe and that meant keeping her the hell away from this place.

"Curts told us that Jellybean would be killed if my family and I didn't play a game of G and G."

"So did you?" she asks, folding her arms over her chest as she always does when she gets defensive and upset.

"Yes," I say.

She rolls her eyes and leans against the wall across from me. I reach my hand over, begging her to take it with my eyes. She does, realizing that is not half of the story.

"We had to hold up Pop's at gun point," I say in a voice that I hate to admit is shaking. She squeezes my hand. I fall down to the ground, pulling her with me.

"What?" she asks.

"It was part of a challenge and Pop shot at my dad. Then he tried to shoot at me."

"God, Juggie," she says, leaning closer to me. Betty gets up and moves over so that she can get as close to me as possible. I let her lean her back on my chest, sitting between my legs. I put my arms around her. This is much better. It's safer, warmer, closer. It makes me breathe quieter. I try to control my feelings when I tell her the rest of the story.

"We're all okay now but my dad had to stay a couple of nights in jail. We had to keep doing these challenges. My mom fought Penny Peabody."

"Penny's alive?" she asks. I told her the whole story when I came back from running away with Archie.

"Apparently. But my mom took one of her eyes," I tell her. She doesn't look shocked. I wasn't either. But I was more surprised that she was alive at all. "They fought and then my mom had to go to the ER. Curts took me to this junkyard looking place and had me look for Jellybean…"

I tell her the rest of the story, feeling myself get chills when I tell her the part about Jellybean being dead. Betty squeezes my hands that are around her body. She leans her head back on my chest and brushes her soft fingers over my arm. It feels good to have to so close and gentle.

When I finish the story, she nods against me.

"It's okay, Jughead," she says. "It's over."

"Yeah it is," I agree. "When I came home…she was just here. And she didn't seem like she had any idea that the kid she was with was going to kill her. He was the same guy that was going to kill Archie."

"We'll have to keep her safe," she suggest. "I'll send some of the Serpents over to watch her."

"Good idea," I agree, then remember that she was crying when she came in. I'm the worst boyfriend ever. I was too worried about what I was thinking to ask her what was wrong.

"Bets, why were you upset?" I ask.

She turns around to face me, looking down at my hands as she holds them in hers.

"My dad was being moved to Hiram's jail," she says. "There was an accident and somehow…they all died."

Oh my god. That's insane. What are the chances that he dies after all that they have been through?

"Betty," I mumble, squeezing her hand.

"I know," she says.

"Are you okay?"

She shrugs.

"I'm sad. But I also don't know how to feel. He was a terrible person but he was going to spend the rest of his life in jail. I know he deserved it, but he was still my dad," she says sadly.

"Today sucks," I agree.

She tries to smile.

"Come here," I beg.

She lets me pull her close to me, resting her body on mine. I lean my head over to watch Jellybean, caressing the side of Betty's arm a few times, trying to soothe her. Eventually, her crying stops and I can feel her breathing calmly. She finally falls asleep. But I don't. I don't want to sleep.

I watch Jellybean as she sleeps soundly in her bed and my beautiful Betty as she sleeps calmly on my chest. My girls at peace. I promise myself as I watch them that I will protect them forever.

 **What is your favorite season? Btw, I have an AU coming up that is pretty big! Thanks!**


	70. A Bughead Invasion Part I

**What if Cassidy and his friends were at the Lodge house for longer than a few minutes? What if they were there for more than money? What if there was no silent alarm? Let's find out!**

 **Sort of an AU. Part of the show are included and what really happened is still included. Please give reviews!**

 **Thanks!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part I.**

Glass breaks.

"What was that?" I ask no one in particular. My entire body is on edge. My hands are trembling with anger and fear at my side. I grab onto Betty's hand beside me.

"Who else knows were here?" Archie asks.

"Why did you say it like that?" Betty asks him.

Then they come running through the side window. I grab Betty and pull her behind me, trying to shield her from the four men who come into the lodge. Veronica stands by Archie's side. I want to grab her and pull her back too. We can't let them get to the girls.

I puff my chest out as far as it can go, trying to show my anger more than my fear. I squeeze Betty's arm behind me so tightly that I think I am hurting her. But it is the only way I can let my fear out.

"You rich summer folks never learn!" the one in the middle says.

There are three others behind him. My eyes focus on their weapons. We have nothing here. We've been drinking. We're in nothing more than jeans and we were just playing monopoly. We are almost as vulnerable as we would be if we were naked.

"Take what you want and get out!" Archie shouts.

"Where's your purse?" the center one asks.

"It's um…in my bedroom."

God, Veronica. Why would you tell him that? We can't let her go up there with him. We can't let them go anywhere with the girls. They have weapons and we have nothing.

"Great. Let's go to the bedroom," the center one says.

"No. No way are you going up there with her alone," Archie says.

"It's okay, Archie," she says. "It'll just be a second."

I don't have to see the rest of his face to know what he is thinking. I look right into his eyes and find darkness and anger. I can't imagine what he doesn't like but I am not going to let this just happen and go by for no reason. We have to save ourselves.

Veronica starts walking up the stairs with that man behind him. I am shaking worse than before. We can't let that happen.

"Get down on your knees!" one of the others shouts.

"Do it!" another supports him.

I keep a hold on Betty behind me. She is trying to peak around my shoulder, go beside me but I pull her back. I need her to be safe. I hold her behind me as we get down to our knees.

"This place is pretty. Got anything special?" one of them asks.

He walks closer to Archie and then over to me. He gets very close to my face, putting his right against mine. I look into those deep dark eyes and find nothing but hate. I wait calmly and angrily until he pulls away. Then he wields his baseball bat and slams it against the table beside us.

It shatters and breaks. It cracks in half and the monopoly game goes flying. I hold Betty tighter than before. I am sure I am going to bruise the hell out of her arm but I need to remind myself that she is this close, that I can protect her. She holds onto my hand and I loosen my grip a little.

"Let's do this!" he shouts and then goes to Betty behind me. I try to shield her from him but he manages to get close to her.

"Hey pretty girl," he says.

"Get the hell away from her!" I shout.

"Ooh. We have a protector," he says.

"Just get what you want and get the hell out of here," Archie says. "We don't want any trouble. No one has to get hurt here. You can have the money or whatever it is that you came here for."

"Oh we came here for a lot more than money," he says.

Just then we hear Veronica scream from upstairs. Once and then again: this time like she is terrified but also in pain.

"Veronica!" Archie shouts.

He gets up and runs toward the sound. One of them grabs him by the arm and pulls him back. They pull him as he fights them off. He turns around to fight him, grabbing his mask. But the other man gets in a punch, sending Archie holding onto the side of his face. I reach out, thinking about helping him and then realize that I would leave Betty open for one of the others to get to Betty.

"Oh no," one of the others says. He puts his hand on my chest. "You stay where you are, hat rat."

Hat rat?

Veronica screams again. I can hear Betty crying behind me. I hold onto her as tightly as I can trying so hard not to feel sick to my stomach. What the hell could they possibly be doing to her? And why?

Archie punches the man in the face. The mask falls off of his head. Archie punches him again and manages to dodge the next one that he throws. Then we can all see his face. He looks like an average man, dark hair and dirty eyes. Archie pushes him against the wall and slams his head in. He passes out against the floor. Another one grabs Archie by the shoulders. I can't let them beat him up.

The third one has his axe too close to Betty and I for me to move.

The still masked man puts his knife to Archie's throat. He holds it there and Archie throws his hands up, staying completely still.

I try to stand up to help him when the man in front of me pushes his axe out toward me.

"Stop! Stop!" I shout, putting my hands out, trying to show that we are going to give in.

We have to survive this.

"What do you want? Whatever it is…just take it," I say in a voice that is not strong enough.

I can feel Betty trembling behind me.

"We want revenge," he says. "You rich folks come around here flashing cash and showing off your money. We want money. We want goods. We want to show you that you are not in charge."

"We aren't rich!" I shout.

"What?" he asks, turning to me.

"We aren't rich. We're just using this place. The people who own it lent it to us because we did some work for them. We are not even close to rich," I try to tell him.

I can see the confusion in his eyes. He turns to the guy behind him. They whisper to each other.

Just then the first man comes down the stairs with Veronica in front of him. Her collar is torn. Her hair is messy. Her face is bruised and there is blood dripping down one of her arms.

"On that note," the first one says. He takes his mask off.

"Cassidy," Veronica mumbles.

He throws her toward Archie. The knife is dropped and Archie grabs her around her waist, holding up most of her weight.

"From the store," Veronica says.

I can hear Betty sigh behind me. It's like she knows him too. Oh god, how could this get worse?

"We know you aren't all rich," Cassidy says. "But there is plenty of money in here. We've never stayed at a place like this. Maybe we aren't just here for the money. Maybe we are here for something much more valuable…"

He caresses the side of Veronica's face and I fight the urge to vomit.

 **What do you think?**


	71. A Bughead Invasion Part II

**Our core four help each other get through this terrible time.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part II.**

"Since you insist on staying close to blondie, you two can come with us!" Cassidy shouts. "I have a feeling you have much more value here than you let us on to believe."

"We don't," I say. "I have twenty bucks in cash. You're welcome to have it. I swear that is all I have."

"And you?" Cassidy asks, looking behind me.

"She doesn't have anything! Leave her alone!" I shout again. I don't even want him to look at her wrong. It sends shivers all over my body. I want to gouge his eyes out.

"I have a credit card but no cash and I didn't bring any jewelry worth anything," she says behind me. I want to tell her not to talk about anything, to not talk at all but I don't want to say it out loud. Instead, I squeeze her arm behind me.

"Get up!" Cassidy shouts.

I stay where I am.

"Get the hell up!" he shouts, slapping me across the face. I stand up after that, trying to ignore the sting and bring Betty with me. I hold onto her hands tightly so they cannot separate us.

"Come with us," he says, dragging both of us. I hold onto her hands as he drags me by my shirt toward the kitchen. He pulls both of us there. I look back at Archie. He gives me a sympathetic and concerned look until we are thrown down to the floor. I pull Betty behind me but he grabs her and tries to pull her away.

"No! No!" I shout. "Let go of her!"

I grab her back, probably brushing her pretty badly. She wraps her arms around my waist from behind, burying her face in my back. I keep her close to me.

Cassidy rolls his eyes and puts his arms across his chest. He leans back on the wall across from us with a scary grin on his face. I stare at him, trying to look unafraid. Inside, I am dying.

"What do you want with us?" I ask.

"Easy," he says. "Ransom."

"What?" I ask. "I have no money! I live in a trailer!"

He looks surprised by this but shakes his head and looks behind me, pointing to Betty.

"Maybe. But she does," he says. "Give me your parents phone number right now."

"Okay," Betty says. "I can give it to you. We have money. They'll pay to get us both out."

Why would she tell him that? She can't think she is going to save me from these people? I am stronger. I can at least shield her from them until her parents pay the ransom.

"What's your name?" Cassidy asks.

"Betty Cooper. My mom is Alice Cooper. She'll find a way to pay, at least some. We don't have a lot of money but we have enough," she explains in a voice that makes my stomach tighten.

"Fine. Give me the number."

Cassidy takes her mothers phone number and then leaves us. One of the others stands by the entrance to the kitchen with his back turned. I hold onto Betty as we sit on the floor, looking at each other. I hold onto her hands between us, kissing her trembling fingers.

I open her hands slowly to see blood on her palms.

"Bets," I mumble. "You should have squeezed onto me."

"I know," she says, sighing.

I look over at her arm. I pull her sleeve up enough to see the bruises that I made on her forearm. I feel bad, wanting to apologize but before I even try, Betty shakes her head, looking sympathetic.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

I shake my head and put my forehead against hers for a long second, taking it one trembling breath at a time. We have been through some bad stuff but at least we have each other here.

"Do you think they'll really take the money and go?" she asks.

I shake my head.

"What do you think he did with Veronica?" she asks.

I don't want to answer. I shrug. I can't even think about that. I don't think he did the unthinkable but he was not kind to her. I keep Betty close, trying to calm my aching stomach.

"We just need to stay together. No one is ever alone again," I say.

"Promise," she agrees.

That makes me feel a little better for some reason. At least she will try to stick with me and if not me, maybe she will stay with one of the others. At least then, she won't be alone.

"Hey! Hat rat!" Cassidy shouts from the other room. She turns the corner and then back into the kitchen. I stand up right away, in front of Betty. I thought for a second I would be able to calm my heart beat. Cassidy grins and throws a piece of paper over to me.

"Who the hell are your parents?" he asks.

"You tell me," I joke.

He doesn't think it's funny.

"Just tell me!" he says. "Write down a phone number for someone who will pay for you."

"My dad's name is FP Jones. He works at a diner. We have no money. I haven't spoken to my mother in months."

"Just write the phone number!" he shouts.

I write it down just as he tells me to do. But I don't think it is going to matter. We have no money. My dad will probably try to do something ridiculous to get the money. He will probably cheat, steal, anything to get his son back.

Shit.

I should have given a fake phone number. I should have done something so that my dad wouldn't find out.

"Jug," Betty says beside me.

I turn to her, wrapping my arms around her waist and letting her head fall to my chest.

"We're gonna be okay, Betty," I promise her.

"Do you think they'll pay the ransom?" she asks in my chest.

"I hope so. I hope anything as long as we can get you out of here," I tell her honestly.

We can hear them talking in the next room but I can't understand what they are saying. They are definitely talking on the phone and maybe to each other too.

"Do you have your phone?" I whisper to her.

She shakes her head.

"I left it out there. It was on the table," she says.

It could be smashed. Or it could be underneath of the table rubble, so no one noticed it. If we get back out there, we have to get it and I have to tell the Serpents about what is going on. I have to tell them to come get us. They can help us get out of this.

I try to listen in.

"Yes. That's right. Ten thousand dollars for your boy," Cassidy says. There is silence and I can just make out his next words.

"If you don't have it, that's no problem. Any parent who doesn't pay the ten grand for their kid, will never see their kid again."

"He's going to kill you," Betty whispers beside me.

I shake my head.

"I won't let him," I say. "Plus…he just called my father. These people have no idea who we are."

"So?" Betty asks beside me.

"He just told the Serpents where we are," I say with a grin. "He just asked for a war and I promise, the Serpents will bring him one."

 **Hope you guys are liking it!**


	72. A Bughead Invasion Part III

**Jughead and Betty are separated. Jughead and Archie friendship. Who is your favorite friendship out of our core four? Thanks!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part III.**

Two of them grab me. They are pulling me away from her. The second I try to fight them off, they are on me again, pulling me back. I grab Betty's hand, sending her nails running down my arm. It stings not even close to the pain that I feel when Cassidy's arms wrap around her waist and pull her away from me.

"We're waiting on a couple of calls for some money," he says. "We need that money or we're not giving you up. But for now…psychological torture seems like the way to go."

"Let her go! Please! Let her go!" I shout. "Do what you want with me. Let her go!

"Don't worry," Cassidy says. "The girls will be with me."

Just then one of them hits me over the head and I'm out cold.

When I wake up, I am across from Archie in his and Ronnie's bedroom. I lean back against the bed and look around the room, finding Archie sitting across from me. He looks sad with his head in his hands. His shoulders are shaking. I realize what's going on.

I kick his foot.

"What's wrong?" I ask him, not even bothering to ask what is going on. I don't think he would have any idea either. None of us has any idea what they really want. They said that they didn't want money and then they started asking our parents for money. We have no idea what is really going on.

"They have the girls," he says.

"They can't do anything," I say. "They just can't. We can fight them off. B and V won't let that happen."

"They won't have a choice. Four of them against two of the girls? Come on, Jughead. We know what will happen to them!" he says, too loud. He chokes on his own words like he is deciding between vomiting and sobbing. I reach over and put my hand on his shoulder.

"We are not going to let that happen," I assure. We can't. He winces when I squeeze him.

"What is it? Are you hurt, Archie?" I ask.

"I tried to fight them off after they knocked you out and I got this," he says, sniffling.

He lifts up his shirt and I see a slash mark across his chest. It looks bright red and risen around the edges. What the hell did that even come from. I put it together quickly.

"Did they hit you with something?" I ask.

"Wood," he says. "Something they found off hand and they hit me with it. My ribs are killing me."

"I can imagine," I say back.

"At least we know they can't beat them up. I heard them talking. Part of the deal is that we come back unharmed. They can't hurt them…at least they can't hurt them on the outside."

"Hurt?" I ask, not sure what to think.

"What a man can do to a woman isn't shown in a picture on the outside," he says, putting his hand to his mouth. "Jughead, I'm gonna be sick."

I understand. I feel the same way. I put my head back and close my eyes, trying to imagine Betty's face. She always calms me down. I think of her perfect hair, her beautiful face and then I feel even more sick because I can hear Cassidy through the walls talking to them.

Thats right.

"Archie," I say.

He still has his hand over his mouth with his eyes closed. His face is paler than I have ever seen it. He really does look like he is going to throw up. I am surprised when he swallows and looks up at me without getting sick.

"We can hear them," I whisper.

I can hear Cassidy mumbling. I can't hear what he is saying but if he were doing anything to them, we would be able to hear it.

I look to the door. No one is guarding us. Other than the ties on my ankles, there is nothing stopping me from attacking Cassidy if I need to. That gives me some piece of mind, a little bit of comfort that she is not totally hopeless in there.

"Are they together?" I ask.

"What?"

"Are B and V together?" I ask again.

"Yeah," he says.

That's good. At least they can protect each other.

"What did he do to Veronica?" I ask.

Archie leans closer to me, as if he doesn't want them to hear. He leans on his knees and speaks quietly. I try not to notice how scared he is. But it's okay because I think he knows I am too.

"He just roughed her around. He slapped her and pushed her into the nightstand. That's why her arm was bleeding. She tried to run so he grabbed her and held her down. She was able to tell me that he threatened her but I don't know exactly what he said," he explains.

"Well at least she's okay," I say.

We're both quiet for a while, trying to hear anything going on in the other room. But we both hear nothing for a while.

Then I hear them mumbling. I can tell which voice is Betty's but not hear what she is saying. They talk for a while. After about ten minutes, I hear Cassidy's voice chime in. He is talking to them much louder than before. He sounds angry. I hear a loud crash and both of the girls scream. I can just imagine them holding onto each other, begging him to get away.

Damn that hurt worse than I thought it would.

"Hey! Hat rat!" Cassidy shouts, turning into our room. He leans on his knees, looking between the both of us.

"Daddy can't pay," he says.

"I tried to tell you that," I tell him.

"But don't worry…someone else's daddy has your back."

"What?" I ask.

He turns his head toward Archie. Of course Mr. Andrews would stick up for me. Of course he would find the money to pay for me. Of course he would try to save me. That is how good of a man he is.

I have nothing to say to that.

"Once we get the money…we don't really care who pays…as long as we have it, we can get you two out of here."

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"Well it looks like Mr. Lodge found his daughter's money pretty quickly. She'll be leaving by the end of the day. But it looks like the rest of you will have to wait a while," he says.

"Fine. Let her go," Archie agrees.

"Oh, I will," he says with a grin. "But since she is leaving a lot faster than we thought…maybe I should have my fun with her before we have to give her up. After all, as long as I don't leave any outside marks, she should be alright."

"Alright? If you touch her, I will kill you, Cassidy!" Archie shouts. "Do you get that? If you touch her at all, I will stab you to death! I will rip your testicles from your body! I will stab your eyes out! I will destroy everything you are, you piece of trash!"

Cassidy stands up and turns to the door. Archie is still screaming but I don't understand most of it. I am too shaken to form words. This is not really happening. He won't do that. He can't do that. He can't touch her. He can't hurt her.

"Oh and I guess when Veronica leaves, that leaves little Betty all alone in there," he says with a shrug. "Hope these walls are thick, Jughead."

Then he is gone.

 **Up next: Veronica and Betty friendship. Who is your favorite friendship out of our core four?**

 **I'll post after four reviews! Thanks!**


	73. A Bughead Invasion Part IV

**Answer to Becks question: Yes, I think that Jughead would propose to Betty. They are really good together. I honestly think that Jughead needs Betty to make him feel needed and Betty needs him to realize she is worth more than her darkness. So definitely! And yes, I would definitely write about it. I'll think on that!**

 **Betty and Veronica friendship. Most of you answered that they were your fave so I hope you enjoy! Also, loving these last few episodes but let's be real…would Jughead really leave Betty in the farm alone? I don't think so. Anyway, what do you guys think so far of the fanfic?**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part IV.**

"What did he do to you up there?" I ask her. She leans closer to my side. My ankles are starting to feel itchy from these zip ties that are on them. I am already getting a cut on the back of my ankle from straining away from the ties.

"He beat me around a little. But it was fine…no big thing," she says. I put my hand to the side of her face and brush my fingers along it. There is a definite bruise where he hit her and she seems shaken.

"What did he do, V?" I beg of her.

She looks down at her hands. Neither of us have stopped crying since we were torn from the boys. But we don't have much of a choice so I have been trying to hold it together. If I am strong, maybe they will like me less. Maybe they will even fear me.

"He hit me and pushed me. I fell into the table. That's what cut my arm. But when I tried to run, he grabbed me. He threatened me."

"How?" I ask.

She presses her lips together as more tears fall down her cheeks. I grab her hand. We squeeze each other as she tells me the rest of it.

"He said that if I didn't cooperate he could just have his way with me," he says. "He said no one would ever know."

"What? What does that mean?" I ask.

My brain starts running through scenarios. Knock her out? Kill her? Drug her? Any of those options are viable ones. No one would know. No one. Not even Veronica because she would be passed out. It would haunt her in ways that nothing else could.

"We have to stay awake," I say.

"What do you mean?" she asks, not following my train of the thought the same way that my brain runs through thoughts.

"We just have to stay awake no matter what, V," I say.

"Okay," she agrees.

Just then Cassidy walks in with a grin on his face. He comes into the room and sits down on the bed across from us. It makes me feel even weirder then before. He leans back on his elbows and looks down at us. This was so different just hours ago.

Jughead and I woke up together on that bed this morning. He made love to me in a sleepy daze this morning right there on that bed where our assailant now sits.

It is an odd, terrifying thought.

"What are you two talking about?" he asks with a grin.

"None of your business, you nasty creature," Veronica says beside me. He nods, not seeming to care and then gets closer to us. He looks right into my eyes. I straighten my expression. I harden my eyes. I bore them deep into his face.

He looks surprised. He watches as my entire body becomes angry as I stare at him. I am not afraid of him. I am just angry. I just hate him and the men he brought here.

I dig my nails harder into my palms than before.

"You are something," he whispers to me.

I smirk at him.

"You have no idea, Cassidy," I say back, letting him know that I know enough about him to get him into plenty of trouble.

"Your hat rat boyfriend insisted on holding you behind him, on protecting you but now I am starting to wonder if he was protecting you from me or you from attempting to attack me," he says with a grin.

"You've just put it all together, haven't you?" I ask.

"Cute," he says.

Just then one of his friends nods toward him. He walks away for a few seconds.

"Just keep talking to him," I say. "The longer we prolong this, the better. Soon, our parents will pay and we can get out of here in one piece."

"What if they decide to hurt us before that happens?" Veronica asks, scared.

"They will try if we don't keep them distracted. If we keep him talking, keep him amused, then he won't care enough to try to hurt us."

She doesn't seem convinced but just then he turns back to us, looking into the room. When he looks away, I lean to her ear.

"Do not let them get you alone," I say. "Never again. We need to stay in at least pairs. If we do that, we can protect each other."

She nods.

He comes back after just a minute.

"Looks like daddy Lodge has paid the bill!" Cassidy says.

"What does that mean?" Veronica asks.

"You're letting her go, right?" I demand.

"Yes. In fact, he paid in full and has sent someone to pick you up. We will hold you outside until they are here," he says.

"What?" I beg. "No. She can stay in here until we see who it is."

I cannot let them separate us.

"I am sure he will be here very soon," Cassidy says. "He did not sound as if he was going to be long. The money is here and we don't need you anymore. We got what we wanted."

There is something wrong about this.

Of course he had the money and would pay right away. But maybe it is more than that. Veronica will be the first one gone. She will be the first one to get out of here. Why won't Lodge pay for the rest of us? He knows we would pay him back. We just found out that Lodge was taking up real-estate all over Riverdale.

We know he is trying to silence the free press.

He is trying to take over the South Side.

He is succeeding in putting his wife on the mayor's seat.

There is something else going on here.

He didn't come to get his daughter himself. He sent someone else to do it. If all he knew was that these people were dangerous and trying to ransom his daughter, wouldn't he come here with guards and security himself? Wouldn't he send someone to kill them all?

Maybe he paid them extra not to hurt her anymore. But then, he would still come get her himself to make sure that it happened the right way, to make sure she wasn't hurt.

He knows that they aren't going to hurt her.

He knows that because he knows them.

He invited us here.

He asked us all to come here because he wanted us out of his way. Getting Veronica out of their way, after she was hurt is just part of his plan. He had to get done whatever he needed and then bring her to safety, even if that isn't all the way home.

But whatever he needed to do, meant that the rest of us needed to be out of his way.

This is Hiram's doing.

I don't know what exactly he is planning on doing in Riverdale. But these people, Cassidy and the others, are being pulled by him.

Cassidy comes back into the room and closes the door. I try not to feel sick or uncomfortable when he smirks as he walks closer to me.

He leans down, kneeling on the floor in front of me and puts his hand on my waist.

This is Hiram's doing. This was probably part of the deal. They could have me but not Veronica.

I don't have to dig deep to get to dark Betty. She is right there at the surface, waiting for me, begging to be released from her cage. The second his lips are on me, she is released.

 **AHHHH! What do you think?**


	74. A Bughead Invasion Part V

**Betty attacks Cassidy and some of the others. There is a fight. We'll have to see what happens then! Anyone meet anyone from the cast of Riverdale? After meeting Cole Sprouse and KJ Apa, I wish I could meet them all!**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part V.**

I wait until he is close enough for me to bite his ear. I rip a piece from him. He shuffles himself around and then pushes away from me. He stands up and holds his hand over his ear. I stand up just as quickly and slap my fist across his face. He looks taken back, falling over toward the wall. Another one of his friends comes through the door but he holds his hand back.

"No, no," he says. "Jeremy, I've got this."

I punch him across his face again just when he is not expecting it. Then I kick his knee cap and run. I duck through Jeremy's arms and run to the next room. But before I can reach the door, Cassidy puts his arm around me and pulls me back. His hands on my waist don't allow me to fight him back. I try to kick him, pull his finger back but he forces me back into the room.

"Jughead!" I shout. "Jug! Jughead!"

"Betty! Where are you?" he shouts back.

I scream again when I am thrown onto the ground of the bedroom and the door is shut behind him. He locks it and then turns back to me with a grin on his face that makes me sick. My stomach is in knots. He hasn't hurt me yet but he is about to. Cassidy comes toward me with his hands out.

"Come here," he says.

"Get the hell away from me!" I shout.

He steps closer and grabs me by the arm. I fight him off, kicking at him and pushing him away. He grabs my other arm and pulls me closer to him until by body is pressed against his. He keeps his arms around me.

"Don't fight it," he says.

"Get the hell off of me," I say again.

"Come on, Betty," he says. "It's just us."

"Exactly," I say. "Get off of me."

I push him back so that I am away from him again. When he takes a step closer to me, he doesn't hesitate. He grabs my shoulders and pushes me toward the wall. He holds me against the wall with one arm across my chest and then puts his foot on top of mine. I try to pull away but it is such awkward positioning I don't know what to do to get away from him. I am too close to him to lift my legs up and I am too close to him to throw a punch. He has my shoulders back. I can't lift my arms up high enough.

He leans in as if he is going to kiss me so I spit in his face.

He looks shocked and this time livid. He looks so angry that I think he might actually kill me.

Cassidy hits me across the face and then throws my body toward the bed. I land on the side of the bed and before I can get up, he has his body against mine, pushing me back down. I try to struggle to get away from him. I try to kick, bite, pull, punch but I am too close and he is too big. I try to get him off but nothing works.

Just as he starts pulling at our clothes, I can get my arms loose from his grasp. He is distracted by pulling at his belt so I scoot my arm closer to him, getting it away from him. Just as he looks up at me, I grab the back of his head and pull as hard as I can. I throw him down to the other side of the bed and push my knee next to his hip. I push as hard as I can on his artery so I leave him in a lot of pain and unable to think about anything but that.

He gasps and groans when I keep him there. I put my fingers on his eyeballs and push as hard as I can. He is able to wrestle me off before I blind him but blood pools from one of his eyes. He gasps and then pushes me off of him.

I run to the door.

I try to open it but there is something blocking it from the outside. I try to open the door again, pushing and kicking at it but nothing happens. It doesn't budge.

Shit.

How am I going to get out of here now?

"Jughead! Jug!" I shout again and again. "I'm in the next room! Help! Please! Jug! Archie!"

I hear Jug on the other side of the wall, banging at it, hitting it but I can hardly understand a word he is saying. I try to listen but I watch as Cassidy gets up. He puts his hand to his eyes and wipes the blood away. He stumbles around a little bit before his eyes lock on me. Then he walks toward me, trying to get back to me. I avoid him a few times because he is walking all over the place.

"What did you do?" Cassidy asks.

"I practically blinded you, Cassidy," I say. "If you let me go now, I'll let you live."

He laughs.

"Do it, Betty!" Jughead shouts on the other side. It is the only thing I can understand from him.

Cassidy takes another couple of steps closer to me and I grab him by his collar and then lock my hand around his throat. He punches me in the stomach, making me let go of him. After I cough I kick him a few times as he tries to get his arm around me. I manage to stand up when I get another punch to my side.

"Just listen!" he shouts. "Just do what I tell you! I won't hurt you if you listen!"

I knee him in his groin when he grabs onto my side. We quarrel for several seconds before I am able to get my hands across his neck again. I squeeze his throat as hard as I can. His eyes start to budge out of his head and his body is becoming bright red.

I realize that dark Betty is not any different than me. Dark Betty is right here. I could kill him. He is hardly fighting me anymore. I could finish him off right here.

I let him go. He takes a big breath and a gasp. He breathes heavily, coughing and looking to the side. I keep my hand on his throat, making sure he can see my eyes. He needs to know that trying to take advantage of me, trying to rape me or trying to hurt any one of us, will be punished.

"You need to let us all go," I say.

"Why should we?" he asks. "I could call my buddies in here right now and they'd destroy you."

I give him a grin and a smirk.

"You need to let us all go before I kill you."

 **YES Betty! So…have you guys met any of the Riverdale cast? If so, what do you think about them?**

 **Thanks! Hope you enjoyed!**


	75. A Bughead Invasion Part VI

**What happens after Betty hurt Cassidy? Jughead, Betty and Archie reunite!**

 **Many of you say that you like my writing style, if so…you can read my published books or my other fanfics! I wrote a Sweet Pea fan fiction! Please read! It is called "Sweet Pea's Story". Who is going to read it? I can't wait to read some of your reviews!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part VI.**

Betty is thrown into the room with us. Her face is bruised on the side and she seems tired but she has a grin on her face when she looks back at Cassidy. He looks much worse off than her. He has a bruise on his neck. His face is red. His ear is bleeding and he has blood on his shirt. He shakes his head, looking down at Betty.

"You should have just listened, bitch," he says.

He slams the door behind him.

That is when I really look at Betty and relief floods through me. I grab her body and pull her close to me. I wrap my arms around her, just as much as she puts hers around me. We hold each other there for a while, feeling nothing but happiness and love and peace, even in this dark place.

"I love you," I say against her hair.

I look up at see Archie looking down at his hands. He has been hurting so badly recently. I reach my hand out to him. He nods and comes over to us, putting his arms around both of us, holding us together.

"I love you both," Betty says against me.

Her head is cradled into my chest but her hand is locked in Archie's. We sit there together, holding onto each other for a while. I don't know how much time passes. None of us care how much time we are sitting here together.

When we finally pull away, we all sit across from the other, staring, waiting for someone to say something. Betty doesn't let go of my hand, even when she puts her hand across my cheek and smiles. She turns to Archie then, squeezing his leg.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

She nods.

"What did he do?" Archie asks.

She turns to him and then back to me.

"He was trying to hurt me…he was trying to rape me," she says. "But don't worry. I fought him off pretty well. He barely got any punches in."

I bite my lip hard. I look down into my lap and squeeze her hand so hard I might break it. Archie seethes beside her.

"You are not leaving our side," Archie says.

I haven't felt this kind of anger in a long time. I normally try to avoid it. But right now, this anger is driving me insane. This anger makes me want to stab him to death. It makes me want to watch as the life slowly ebbs away from his body and I am left with nothing but a corps underneath of my fists. I want to kill him. I want to take his life for even thinking about putting his hands on my love.

"I'm gonna kill him," I mutter.

Betty turns to me and puts her hand on the side of my face. I brush my hand across her eye where the mark is.

"What did he do?" I ask again.

She looks down, like she doesn't want to tell me about it but then she nods her head and begins to speak again.

"He hit me. He held me down. He never really got close to what he wanted though. I bit part of his ear off. I choked him and then I threatened his life. He let me go when I did that. Jug…I was so close to killing him," she admits.

I realize that this bothers her. I wanted to kill him but with her telling me this, it makes me feel weird about it. It makes me feel different. This is serious. They are going to hurt us. I pull her close to me. She rests her head on my chest. I envelop her in my arms. She tucks her legs up close to her body so that I have all of her. It makes me feel better. My arms are still shaking.

"I was so scared for you," I admit.

"I know," she whispers. "I could hear you."

I nod against her head and kiss her beautiful hair.

"Betty?" Archie asks.

"Hm?"

"Where is Veronica?"

"I don't know. They took her out of the room. They said that Hiram paid and that someone would be there to pick her up. I haven't heard her or seen her since then."

"Of course Hiram already paid," Archie says in a voice that is shaking. "But how could he get here so fast?"

Betty sits up a little bit and turns to him.

"I have a theory about that too," she says. "I think that Hiram already knew what was going on. I think that he had someone waiting for Veronica and I think they made a deal."

"What deal?" Archie asks. "Why would he know?"

"I think that these guys are pulled by Hiram. They do what he says. They have a deal with him. They get paid to do this, to keep us out of range so that he can buy up the rest of Riverdale," she explains.

"You're right."

My brain puts it together. I cannot believe I didn't get it before. Of course Hiram is behind this. Of course Veronica was out of here before all of us. He wanted her safe when they started to lose their minds and get angry. He hired them because he knew they could hurt us, put us in our place.

Then I realize what that means.

"They allowed Veronica to get out of here and not seconds later, Betty was sexually attacked by Cassidy," I mumble, putting together the awful truth. "He let Veronica go so that he could have Betty."

Betty squeezes my hand, clearly she has already gotten to this conclusion.

Archie sits on her other side and puts his arm around her body too. Just then, the door opens. Both of us look up to Cassidy and his two buddies. I am guessing the last one is with Veronica. Wait a second.

"You have been giving us quite the trouble, Betty Cooper," he says. "Your mother can't pay yet. She hasn't got the money. She has to get it. So in the mean time…we're going to have fun."

"No. You are not going to touch her," I promise.

 **Hope you guys enjoy! I have had a lot of people tell me that they love the way I write. I appreciate that so much! Thank you! If you do, please go read "Sweet Pea's Story", which I just posted. It will be many many chapters long, I am sure. I can't wait to explore his story. Thanks!**


	76. A Bughead Invasion Part VII

**Cassidy, Jeremy and the others are not very happy. This might get a little dark in true Riverdale fashion. Let's find out! I will post after seven reviews! You guys are so supportive and wonderful!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part VII.**

"Let her go!" I beg.

At this point, I have forgotten any semblance of maturation and pride that I once had. I feel nothing but hate and such fear that I have to remind myself that I need to breathe.

When I make myself open my eyes, I see Betty pinned against the wall in Cassidy's arms. He is holding her tied hands above her head. Her tied ankles are barely hanging above the ground. He is holding her up by nothing but her arms. She is gasping for breath, screaming when she can get it out. And Cassidy is looking to me the entire time, watching me for a reaction. No matter how I beg my mind to calm it down, I get nothing but terror running through my veins.

"Let her go and I'll do anything. What do you want?" I ask.

"The boss says we can do whatever we want with her. We're just waiting for the money. And your daddy is the last to pay," he says.

"What?" I demand, screaming.

I pull hard against my restraints.

"If their parents paid, let them go!" I shout.

"No," Cassidy says. "We aren't ready yet. They came up with the money a lot faster than we thought they would. So now that they have, we are going to wait until all three of you find the money."

"No! That's not fair! I told you! I'm poor. They aren't. They have the money but my family doesn't. You can't do this! That's not fair!" I scream in my deepest voice. I bring out every ounce of hate I have ever had. I bring out the Jug that walked through the gauntlet. I bring out the Jug that cut up Penny Peabody. I bring out the Jug that was ready to kill if needed.

"Calm down!" Jeremy tells me when I pull against my restraints and kick at the ones on my legs.

My restraints are tied to a side table that is heavy and almost impossible to move. My knees are tied together too. Even if I could get up, I could hardly move. The ropes are wearing against my body, leaving red, bleeding, raw marks wherever they touch. It bothers me but when I hear Betty scream, I pull against my restraints further, hoping that it hurts, hoping that it shuts so much that I don't have to hear Betty anymore.

"Betty!" I shout when she calls out again. He has a knife against her stomach. He pushed against her once, stabbing her slowly so she could feel the knife go in and slowly as it came back out. It's small, probably didn't puncture anything vital, which I know he did on purpose. But her pain is so fearful and pained that I don't care what he's doing. I have to kill him.

"Call my mom!" Betty says, trying to bargain. I give her a look, shaking my head. "If you call her, she'll help pay for Jug. You can get all your money. I swear it."

"Bets," I mumble, trying to get her to look at me. When she finally does, there is a look so sympathetic and gentle that I want to envelop her in my arms and kiss her all over. I want to make everything better. But instead of that, Cassidy puts the knife to her throat.

"No! STOP! STOP!" I scream, my words choking in my throat, my body shaking and my mind racing. I have never felt this kind of panic before. "If you stop, I'll do anything! Please! Please! Just leave her alone!"

"Oh calm down," Cassidy says.

He smiles at me, a smirk I want to rip from his face. Then he slashes the knife down the front of her shirt and tears it apart, exposing her to everyone in the room. He nods to Jeremy, who walks over and puts his hands on hers, holding her against the wall.

Betty cries and panics as Cassidy looks down at her chest. He stays there at her chest until I am so mad, I am scaring myself.

"Hey! Hey!" I shout, getting his attention. He looks over to me with frustration on his face. I even get him to walk over and stare down at me. But I put on my anger.

"In case you idiots haven't noticed yet, I am a Serpent and my father is the Serpent King. Since you probably don't know what that means…we get rid of bad people and we don't care how we have to do it. So I suggest you let her go," I say.

He smiles and then laughs.

"No, I don't think so," he says with a grin. He goes back to Betty and puts his hand on her chest. I fight harder against my restraints but it doesn't matter. There is nothing that I can do. I kick and try to get closer, try to kick him, trip him, anything. But he is too far and I can never get close enough while I am attached to this.

I almost forgot that Archie was in here. He winces when Cassidy has his knife against Betty again. Archie puts his head back against the wall. I watch his face sweat and his eyes clench shut, pain clear on his face. I want to reach out to both of them, comfort them and get them the hell out of here. But I can't. I can't do anything.

Cassidy puts his knife to Betty's shoulder and then slices her across until he reaches her neck. He starts to cut her, just a little bit on the side of her neck. She had been quiet until then. Now she screams again, begging him to stop. But it is more than just fear that pushes her. She is angry, so angry in fact that she puts together what she needs to do.

I see her eyes turn dark. It is a darkness I rarely see. But this time, I know. She spits in Jeremy's face, making him let go of her hands. She smacks her hands across Cassidy, flying the knife toward me. I reach out as hard as I can to grab it. I am so close to it, so close to grabbing it. I reach just a little further, just a little longer. I can just barely touch it. I curl my fingers to bring it closer. I curl my fingers to tug the knife in my direction.

I can hear Betty fighting off Cassidy, kicking and punching as long as she possibly can. But she needs me to get this knife and she needs me to get out of these restraints.

Then the two others come into the room with knives in their hands. They both go to help Cassidy, grabbing Betty and pushing her back against the wall. Just then, I grab the knife and slice my restraints off. It's easy enough. I stand up, pushing the knee restraints down.

I don't hesitate.

I stab Cassidy in the stomach when he turns to me. He has his hand over his stomach when another one goes to me. I hardly see him. I reach out to stab him too but his knife reaches me first. I feel nothing but pain as a knife goes into my chest.

 **AHHHH! I'll post after SEVEN REVIEWS/questions/suggestions! Thanks guys! Hope you enjoyed!**


	77. A Bughead Invasion Part VIII

**Jughead is stabbed! Betty is hurt! What are we going to do?**

 **Please answer this cause I'm curious: who is your favorite character ever in Riverdale? Mine is Jughead…but he comes in close with Sweet Pea!**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part VIII.**

I throw myself at Jughead. I throw my body over top of his. I hold onto him as tight as I can when Jeremy starts to pull me off. Jughead stabbed that other kid and Cassidy too but that other kid managed to get him too. Jughead has a knife still in his chest. I don't know what to do so I just put myself over him, hoping that I will be able to keep him close enough that they won't be able to get us apart.

"Come here, bitch!" Cassidy screams, holding onto his stomach. I won't let go. I won't even look at him.

"Cassidy! I need a doctor, dude," Jeremy says.

"Yeah…you're not looking so good, Cassidy," Archie says. "You might want to get that checked out."

"Oh shove it, red!" he says in an angry voice. But that is how I know that he is starting to lose his focus, his control. He is starting to fall apart and I am going to take that control right from him. The second his guard is down, it will be mine.

"Guys! You need to patch those up!" the other one says. He is untouched but looks scared, shocked and is shaking where he stands. They are crumbling. I am going to be the one to make it all happen.

I hear something outside the window. I turn to it and see the slightest glimpse of a Serpent jacket as it walks by. Then another and another. I don't try to hide my grin.

"Oh, boys," I say with a smile, standing up this time. "If I were you, I'd run."

Cassidy laughs but it is not confident. He is scared. He didn't see the Serpents but he is scared of me. I look to the knife on the ground and then back to him. One of us is going to be able to get to that faster. Archie grabs it and tosses it over to me. I catch it, immediately holding it up to Cassidy's neck and pushing him against the wall behind him.

"Hey, bitch," I say in his face, feeling dark Betty take over completely. There is nothing left but her. There is nothing left but us. "I'm not asking you to let us go. I am telling you that we are going to leave…whether I keep you alive or not, will be up to me. But first…"

I put the knife against his chest and dig the blade in just a little bit, enough to make him scream in pain and tell me to stop. But I don't care. He didn't stop when I asked him to, when I begged him, when Jughead was practically crying begging him to stop.

"Betty," Jughead says from the ground. I turn around to see his hand out toward me. I look down at at his fingers and then back at his face. He looks sympathetic, a little afraid. He presses his lips together and then shakes his head just a little.

"There's no going back," he says.

I am going to tell him that I don't care, that I want to hurt this guy for hurting me and for stabbing him but I realize what he is saying. I was shocked and a little afraid of Jug when he told me that he stabbed Penny. I can't become that person.

The door slams open and the Serpents walk in with purpose and finality.

Mr. Jones is leading the charge with Sweet Pea, Fangs, Toni, Jinx and a few of the others behind.

"Ha! I was going to say we were here to rescue the hostages," Mr. Jones says with a grin but then shrugs and drops his knife to his side. "But it looks like the situation has reversed itself."

I push Cassidy against the wall and then back up.

"Grab him," I say.

Fangs puts his arm across his chest and holds him there.

"Looks like you've had a bad day, kid," Fangs says with a grin.

I turn back to Jughead. The others are getting Archie out of his restraints while Mr. Jones, Sweet Pea and I kneel over Jughead. He still has the knife in his chest. It is up a little high. Jughead is awake, looking at me only. It's as if he barely noticed the other people in the room.

"Juggie," I say. "We have to get that knife out of you."

"No," Mr. Jones says.

"What?" I demand.

"It actually might be more dangerous to take it out," he says. "We need to get him to a hospital. Call 911, Sweet Pea."

He does just that.

I don't listen as Sweet Pea talks to the 911 operator on the phone. Instead, I am focused on being with Jughead. I hold his hand and look down into his eyes. I watch him as he tries to breathe, struggling.

"I love you," I whisper to him.

"Love you too," he agrees. "Are they gone?"

"We're good, Jug," I promise him. "We're good. Your dad is here and Sweet Pea. We're going to get you better and we're going to get them out of our lives forever."

He nods, seeming to understand.

"Fangs, Jinx, Toni, bring those guys to the front!" Mr. Jones says.

"Jones, when the cops get here, we need to be gone," Sweet Pea says. "I don't have a good rap with the law."

"Good point," he agrees. "Anyone with a warrant or risk of a problem with the law needs to leave right now!"

"What about you?" I ask him.

"This is my son. I'll stay with him."

They are all brought to the front of the house, out of this room and away from us. I don't ask what they are going to do with them. I don't even ask what will happen to them once they are gone. I just watch as they leave the room. I smile as Cassidy is being brought to his unknown fate with his hands behind his back. I give him a smile and a flutter of my fingers. Then he is gone and I am looking back at Jug.

"Wait! Stop!" Fangs yells.

"He's loose!" Toni shouts.

I can't see what is going on.

"Cassidy!" someone else shouts.

Archie stands up and starts to run.

"No Arch!" I scream.

"Archie! Don't!" Jughead says.

But it is too late. Cassidy hurt Veronica. Cassidy hurt me. Cassidy hurt Jughead. And now Archie is going to make it better.

 **Two more installments to this piece! So…who are your favorite characters in the show? Mine are Jughead and Sweet Pea.**


	78. A Bughead Invasion Part IX

**They are all going to the hospital to heal up.**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part IX.**

"Do we have a Betty Cooper in here?" the nurse asks. I raise my hand, calling out and rushing over to her. I stand in front of the nurse with nervous hands, trying to stabilize. I realize that I go up way too fast. I almost fall over when the dizziness comes. Archie grabs my hand and helps me stabilize. I didn't even realize he was there with me.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Ma'am, you should be resting," my older nurse says as she passes me by. I shake my head. I don't have time for that.

"I'm fine," I say to both of them. I ignore the nurse and Archie when they scowl at me. Veronica is behind us, waiting to hear the same news we all are: news about Jug.

"Is it Jughead?" I ask.

He nods.

"He is stable. We were able to fix the damage to his internal blood vessels, which were causing the internal bleeding. We have gotten that under control and have started him up on an IV of blood and fluids," she says. "His father is with him now but since he is moving out of the ICU, you can go see him."

"Oh thank god," I say.

"So, he's gonna be fine?" Archie asks.

"Yes, he will be fine as long as he doesn't tear open his wounds," she says. "He needs to heal up and stay relaxed."

The nurse beside her gives me a smile and puts her hand on my arm with an expression I do not like.

"That's convenient, as his girlfriend should be doing the same thing," she says.

I look back to Archie, who gives me another inquisitive look. I have not told anyone about my concussion. I don't want them to worry. They told me I need to calm down, sit for a few days and not get myself into any trouble. They also said that I was fine and that I should be able to heal with no problems.

I am not ready to tell everyone about something they should not be worrying about anyway. Of course, Jug will probably figure it out eventually. I will have to tell him.

"You can see him now," she says. "But if you are all going to go in…it needs to be rather brief. He can't handle this much stimulus at one time."

"Maybe just Betty for now," Veronica says. "He probably doesn't want to see all of us like that anyway, knowing Jughead."

Archie looks disappointed but he knows she's right.

"I'll ask him when he wants to see you guys," I say with a nod and start following the nurse down to his room. I turn the corner and she opens the door for me.

Jughead is laying down with his head on a pillow and his arm draped over his stomach. FP is sitting by him, just looking at him, looking afraid and possibly really upset. I walk toward him and FP stands up, wiping his hand down his face.

"He's doing great," he says quietly. "He's tired and looks bad cause he lost a lot of blood but really, he's doing great."

I nod. It is almost as if he is trying to convince himself, not me. I can see that he is alright. He is hooked up to a monitor and he has an IV in his arm. He looks a little grey but he is okay.

I walk over and Jug hears my footsteps, looking up. When he sees me, he smiles and holds out his arms for me. I try not to notice him flinch. I sit with him on the edge of his bed and put my arm around his shoulders. He leans his head on my shoulder and I put my hand on his chest, running circles around him carefully.

"How do you feel?" I ask.

"Better," he says in a deep voice. "Cause you're here."

I smile at that.

"I'll leave you two," FP says with a grin.

"Thanks, Dad," Jug says. "Come back later?"

"Sure, boy," he says.

The door closes and then we are alone. I keep him close, constantly running my fingers across his hand, his arm, his chest, making him smile or at least feel safe again.

"Now really, how do you feel?" I ask, moving so that I can see his face. He winces but nods with a stupid grin.

"Not so bad actually," he says. "It hurts but I feel a little better than before. They're giving me blood so I don't feel as tired."

"Yeah now you're only going to sleep for one week, not three," I joke.

He smiles but doesn't laugh and I don't blame him. It will probably hurt pretty badly if he does.

I lean back to get his hat that I took from them earlier. I pull it out of my pocket and move my head to the side too quickly. It hurts and then the entire room spins a few times. I have to grab onto the side of the bed so I don't fall off. Juggie grabs my hand and holds me.

"Whoa," he says, putting his arm around my waist. "Are you okay?"

I don't know what to say. I have to wait for the room to stop spinning. Then I can look at him and take a deep breath, trying not to acknowledge my stomach flip flopping.

"What was that?" he asks.

"A doctor checked me out," I say. "I have a concussion from all of those punches and him pushing my head against the wall. They said that I need to rest and not do a lot of working, running or thinking."

"Oh that should be easy," he jokes with a short laugh and then puts his arm over his stomach, bending over. "They also told me that I shouldn't laugh."

"I can imagine," I say.

"We look like hell," he says. I agree and then put his hat on, adjusting it on his head. He smiles when I do it.

"Better?" I ask.

"Definitely," he agrees.

I lean over and kiss him. He kisses me back a few times and then groans when he pulls away, almost in frustration.

"What?" I ask.

"You can't be doing anything too straining," he says. "And where we will go with that…definitely a lot of work."

"Well if I—"

"And I can't open my wound," he finishes, thinking about where I was going with that train of thought.

"Right," I agree. "We should probably just relax anyway."

I lay down beside him, putting my hand on his chest and my head on his shoulder. Then I start to think about everything that happened. I am not scared of Cassidy, of what he was trying to do to all of us. But I am honest with myself about it. Cassidy was going to kill us all if he had to. But before any of that, I was going to kill him. I had my hands around his throat. I was really going to do it.

"I was going to kill him, Juggie," I whisper, feeling that same darkness surrounding my heart again.

"I know," he says back, squeezing my shoulder. "I know you were."

"What does that make me?" I ask.

"Human," he says.

"No a normal person would have fought him off. A normal person would have run away when they had a chance. I had the chance to run, Juggie. But I didn't want to run. I wanted him to know that I wasn't going to let him hurt me. I wanted to kill him."

I can still feel it like it is happening now. Before I have the chance to clench my hands into fists, Jug takes my hand and interlocks his fingers running his thumb over my hand.

"It's okay, Bets," Jug says. "I understand. I understand why you wanted to. If something like that happened to me, I would want him dead too. Betty, when I could hear your pain…when I could hear you fighting him off, I wanted to kill him. I promised that if I had the chance, I would do it."

That makes me feel better. Maybe it shouldn't. But it does.

"We're a little messed up, a little dark," I say.

"Yeah but we did what we had to to get out of there," he says. "And that's okay, Bets. We're okay."

I accept that. I believe that.

We rest here for a while, relaxing and breathing deeply with each other until we fall asleep.

 **One more installment to this story! It's almost over! Hope you guys liked this chapter…a little calmer. More friendship scenes in the next one! Our core four back together.**

 **Thanks for the reviews! Keep it up!**


	79. A Bughead Invasion Part X

**Last part! Hope you guys enjoyed! This is the part in the diner. Anyone going to the Riverdale Con in New Jersey at the end of June?**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part X.**

There we sit. The four of us. A little battered, a little injured, and in quite a bit of physical pain. Sometimes I notice Betty still shaking beside me. I have to grab her hand and make her look at me, remind her where she is. At first, I thought it was fear. But it isn't. She's angry. She thought she was going to kill him and if she had just a few more seconds…she would have.

I keep my back a little arched, never ridding myself of the pain in my gut from the stabbing and my hand always in Betty's.

"You doing okay, Jug?" Archie asks.

"I'll live," I say with a grin. But to be honest, if he made me laugh I would not be able to hold back the groan of pain that would follow along with it. It's a deep sensation, constantly sending aches throughout my stomach.

"I'm hungry but I don't know how to eat and the hunger pains make it worse but if I do eat…"

"It might hurt worse," Betty finishes for me.

I nod, thanking whatever deity there is that she knows what I am thinking and can just speak for me. Otherwise, I wouldn't make ti through all of my sentences either.

"What about you?" I ask Betty, turning to her.

"Yeah, B. You took quite a few hits from Cassidy. Are you sure you're okay?" Veronica asks.

"I'll be fine," she says, squeezing my hand a little. "He beat me up a little but the worse I got was a few slices from the knife and a punch to my face. This bruise looks worse than it is."

"You have a concussion, Bets," I say. "It's worse."

She looks shocked and then looks over at the others for a reaction. I had forgotten that she hadn't told them. But they deserve to know how hard she fought, even with a concussion, she fought them off so that we could all get out of there. We all worked hard, but she is the real fighter here.

"You do?" Archie asks. "Betty, why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know," she says. "I didn't think that it was that important. It happened but I can live with it. I just have to be careful. I can't do anything crazy or watch too much tv or do any sports. But I'm not too worried. I'll just keep it calm for a couple of days and I'll be fine."

"The doc said a couple of weeks," I remind her.

"You'll have to keep that bedroom time in check, B," Veronica says.

"Gross, Ronnie," Archie mutters.

"Yeah," I agree. "I'll watch out for her. She's not going to be doing any investigating for a little while either."

Betty looks defeated but she knows that we are all right. She needs to stay safe if she doesn't want it to get any worse. She is lucky she didn't hurt herself worse. Plus, after she got sick, they said that it was worse than they thought. I am glad that we got her to a hospital. I was so scared that we could've lost her, or that they could've taken so much from her.

Speaking of that, we never really talked about what happened to Veronica.

"Veronica," I say. "Where the hell were you?"

"Jug," Betty protests.

"No, Bets. We deserve to know."

"They told me that my father paid and that I was to be released. They brought me out to a car and put me in it. But the car didn't move. I was with Andre," she says. "We stayed outside the house but I was safe in the car, he kept assuring me that."

That makes sense.

"We have a theory," I say. "That you were traded for Betty. Betty had to stay and you got to leave so that you could be safe but that they could still have her."

I won't say what they would have her for. It already makes my stomach to do a huge flipflop. I clench her hand tighter beside me. She brushes her finger down my hand and then across my wrist. It reminds me that nothing happened and that we did everything we were supposed to do.

"I don't know," Veronica says.

"You know," I say. "Maybe they didn't tell you. But you know."

She shakes her head.

"We're all stressed and worried about what happened," Betty says. "Maybe that is what happened and maybe it isn't. Either way…it's all over now and there is nothing we can do about it."

"There is something I can do about it. I can kill Hiram for trying to hurt you," I say.

"He wouldn't do that," Veronica says.

"I don't believe that," I say, leaning forward to talk to her. "And I don't think you do either. In fact, I think that you figured out that your dad was involved the moment you got to leave before everyone else. I think you knew that inside, Cassidy would be able to do whatever he wanted with Betty. Maybe that wasn't part of the deal your dad made but he didn't care because he just got the money and he got us out of the way."

"Out of the way?" Archie asks. "You are sounding crazy."

"No. I'm not," I say.

"Actually, Jughead's right. I thought about this too. The way Cassidy was with me, even before Veronica left was more aggressive."

"He threw me down the stairs, Betty," Veronica says.

"Yeah but he didn't threaten to rape you," Betty argues. "I'm not complaining that he didn't hurt you but I am saying that he did not attack you the way he attacked me."

I nod, holding her close to me.

"You think my dad was behind all of this?" Veronica asks.

I nod.

"He hurt us, V," Betty says.

"He could have hurt us a lot worse and it was all to get us out of his way so that he could set up his new properties," I say. "And did anyone else notice that he only really tried to stab Betty and I?"

Archie and Veronica look at each other, as if they are trying to think about it hard. But I don't have to think about it. I know exactly what I am talking about.

"Who does Hiram hate more than anyone in Riverdale?" Betty asks.

Archie sighs and then looks over.

"Jughead," he answers.

"Right," I say. "And I was the only one that was actually close to death, Betty close after me."

"Because if he hurts Betty, he hurts you and if he can get you killed and make it look like it was someone else's fault…" Veronica starts.

"Then that makes it all the better," I agree.

Hiram is trying to kill me and I don't think this is going to be the last time. He doesn't like to lose.

"At least we're all here," Betty says, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Yeah," I agree, sighing.

"Thank god Andre didn't leave when I told him to," Veronica says, taking a deep breath. "Thank god you didn't catch up to that hillbilly in the woods. He could've killed you, Archie and that would've been…"

Archie looks to his girlfriend, then places his hand out on the table for all of us to see. Veronica puts her hand in his. Betty's hand goes on top and then mine.

We all sit by each other, staring, looking at the people around us and in that moment, even Veronica and I are as close as we have ever been…we all are. And it's wonderful.

Archie didn't say anymore about what happened in the woods that terrible night, at least, not to us.

And none of us could have guessed the repercussions of the events that unraveled, not even Archie.

 **Glad you guys enjoyed! You guys are so awesome and supportive! I love writing these! I am going to the Riverdale Con in New Jersey, US. Anyone else going? Can't wait to meet all the guests!**


	80. Jughead's Fear

**Season finale has me pretty concerned. Also, I totally guessed that it was Chic but could never be sure!**

 **xxx**

 **Answer to the guest question about if I have advice for hopeful writers: It's not really advice but I can say a few things. I love writing. If you have to force it, or convince yourself you're a writer, or pressure yourself to write when you want to do other things, you probably are not a natural writer. I found that I write all the time. It's natural. Now, if you are not a natural writer, and you just enjoy it and have to force it out sometimes, it's okay. Enjoy it. Get inside your characters and live a thousand lives.**

 **xxx**

 **This is a one shot about Jughead and Betty after that crazy night in the Season Three finale.**

 **Jughead POV.**

She's so beautiful. Her perfect blonde hair is sprawled out across the pillow, her arm thrown across the top of her head and her body vulnerable, outwardly positioned toward me. Her eyes are closed, her face relaxed in a perfect content state.

"I love you, Betty Cooper," I whisper to her. I brush my finger along her face and down her arm to her elbow. I keep my hand there, leaving her soft skin underneath of mine.

I can see the fear on her face when she saw Archie fall to the ground for the hundredth time. I can still see the fear in her shaking hands when she took my scroll from the tree. I can still feel her trembling body when we kissed before I was sure I was going to lose her. I really thought I was going to. I thought that was going to be it. If it wasn't her when they drank from the chalices, it would have been her in my challenge, or her in her own challenge, because she was the most connected to each one of the people that made us run around the woods.

"God, Betty," I mumble. "I thought something would happen…or that you would never…or that I would…Oh, Betty."

I put my head down to hers and feel her arms get closer to me. One of her hands brushes against my hair. She lets it fall and flop against the bed. It makes me smile as I watch her try to comfort me, even in sleep. I don't know why but I haven't been able to shake this feeling. It hurts so bad. She was so afraid and I was afraid too. Archie was…God, Archie was in such bad shape and I thought we were really going to lose Veronica, which actually scared me too.

I can't lose any of them like that. I will always love Betty, no matter where we go or what happens in the rest of our lives. Part of me, the honest, dark writer part needs to be with her. Part of me will always be hers and I think that is why I was so scared. If she died, part of me would have been gone. We would have died together. That is just how it will always be.

I can't handle this alone.

I rest my head on the pillow, trying to keep my breathing in check but I can't. It still hurts.

It's the kind of crying that does not produce any tears. It just racks your body, makes you feel terrible and afraid and then takes everything left from you. It's just the kind of fear and crying that I need right now. I don't want it. I even try to stop it. But it doesn't seem to matter. The more I try to stop it, the harder it comes rushing to the surface, as if it has been waiting since I received that letter at my front door.

"Betty," I whisper, not able to say anything else. I don't want to wake her and scare her but I need her to be close. I rest my forehead against hers, breathing slower, my lips trembling so bad I have to bite until my lower lip bleeds.

I put my trembling, terrified hand against her face. She is so beautiful. She is so amazingly gorgeous sometimes it actually hurts. But right now, it just makes me feel safe, like I can trust that she is not going to go away. She is safe here. We are safe together. We are going to take care of each other for a long time.

Her eyes flutter. I wipe my eyes off quickly as her body starts to waken, parts of her slowly starting to stretch. I move my hand from her face to wipe off the blood from my lip and try to control my breathing. But when her eyes open, they flash with fear and heartbreak.

"Juggie!" she shouts.

I don't say anything because there is nothing that I can say without sending myself back there again. Betty standing at the other end of a chalice we all thought was poisoned. And that was supposed to be it. She was supposed to die right there. What would I have done with my life if that was the end?

If she hadn't come out of that, and I would have?

Real tears fall down my cheeks now.

"It's okay," Betty says, putting her hand to my face. She scoots her body closer to mine so that we are pressed against each other, nothing but skin to skin and our underwear are pressed against each other. Our faces are against each other too, nose to nose. She puts her hand to my face, leaving it there and brushing my hair from my face.

"What is it?" she asks.

"If you would've…if you didn't…Bets, I love you," is all I can manage to get out. But it's okay. She doesn't need to know the rest. She is not asking me about the rest. She knows that I would never have survived if she hadn't made it out of there. She knows that I need her right now.

"I love you too," she whispers against me. She pulls me face close and we kiss for several long seconds. Then I pull away, thinking of our last kiss before she walked up to her father—to the black hood.

"I didn't mean to wake you," I admit. "I was feeling overwhelmed with what happened yesterday and last night."

She nods, never looking condescending, never surprised. She understands every moment of what I am telling her. She knows that fear is okay because it hurt her too.

"We don't have to go back to sleep," she says.

I shake my head.

"Maybe we should."

"No," she says. "It's okay. Actually, I was sort of dreaming about my dad. I was just holding the gun there and waiting for something to happen. The moment he said I had until the count of three…Juggie, I knew I was going to shoot him."

"But you didn't kill him," I tell her.

"Did you know I wouldn't?" she asks.

What kind of question is that? I don't want to answer that. If it were me, I don't know that I would have been as smart as her. I think that I might have freaked out, I might have hated him more and I might have killed him. Either way, he is dead now. It doesn't matter who did it because it is done.

"No," I admit. I cannot lie to her. "But I would have."

"I'm glad I didn't," she says. "But I guess it doesn't matter because he ended up dead anyway."

She starts crying then. Tears fill her eyes. Her hand shakes on the side of my face. She bites her lower lip like I was doing earlier to calm down. But it won't work for her either. I feel the same fear rising in my chest. I feel the same tears, the same terrified feeling that she does.

"I'm scared," she whispers.

"I know," I say. "Me too. But it's okay. They can't get to us anymore. They are gone now and we're safe."

"Safe?" she asks.

I nod.

"Why doesn't it feel safe?" she asks, tears still on her cheeks. I brush them away and kiss her once, squeezing her side in my hand as I clench her body close to mine.

"I don't know," I admit.

"You feel it too?"

I nod against her.

"It's okay," I whisper. "We have each other."

"Jughead," she says, putting her hand tight in my hair to make me look right in her eyes.

"I have an idea," she says, still with fear but this time with something else too: hope. "A way we can make each other feel safe."

I know what she means. I kiss her impossibly close and don't let go all night.

 **Jughead is quite emotional! But hey, his girlfriend and his best friends almost died…so he deserves a night. What did you guys think?**


	81. Jumped I

**The Serpents are jumped by some crazies on Jingle Jangle in tent city after the season finale. This is just a little side AU, a possibility of what could happen at the end of the season. (I haven't felt super great because my boyfriend just left for boot camp but I am going to do my best!)**

 **Question: what do you guys think about this partial AU?**

 **Jumped I.**

 **Jughead POV.**

I roll over, barely opening my eyes to a beautiful woman beside me. I brighten when I see her, throwing my arm on top of her and pulling her to my side. She smiles just a little bit when she sees me. She puts her head against my arm and snuggles close. I feel safe with her, our arms entangled, our bodies interlocked and our faces right against each other. Then I have the purest, most content thought I have ever had: we are at peace.

Betty opens her eyes a little bit to look at me and puts her hand against my face. She brushes my hair back and puts her fingers in it, the way that only she can. It makes me feel so good so I push my forehead on hers and lean to kiss her. She smiles but kisses back. We kiss for several seconds, knowing that we are completely safe and at peace here. We kiss again and again, pushing our bodies against each other.

I hear some clambering outside the tent. That is the one problem with staying in tent city, even if it is just for a few nights. I wanted to be alone with Betty, but also watch out for the serpents. Right now, with the loud clambering and a couple of shouts getting closer, I am regretting that decision. Maybe we should have just stayed back at the house. But then I hear the shouting getting closer. It doesn't sound like our guys. They are slurring their words. They are fumbling, maybe breaking things? What is this?

"Jughead," Betty says, grabbing onto my wrist when I sit straight up. I move my hair out of my face and try to listen closer.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"Don't you hear that?" I ask her.

She nods.

I grab my hat and my pants, shoving them on as fast as I can. Betty scrambles to get her clothes but I am much faster than her. I hold my hand out for her to wait in the tent when I grab my jacket from right outside on the post. I throw it on and look out the tent, trying to watch who it could be. Then I see a few of the Serpents, probably just waking up, stumbling over to see what is going on at the edge of tent city.

"Juggie!" I hear from the tent.

I turn back.

Betty is standing in shorts, her bra and her serpent jacket, which would make me smile if it were any other time. I reach out and grab her hand. I pull her close to me, keeping her body behind my own.

"What is going on?" she asks.

"I think someone is trying to hurt us or at least cause chaos," I mumble.

"Just when we thought we were safe," she mumbles. I know what she means. She rolls her eyes as she follows behind me, walking toward the sight of frustration. I stop when I see Sweet Pea physically holding off a man with nothing more than a robe on. He looks to be twice our age, larger with a beer gut. I don't think I've seen him before.

"What the hell?" I ask.

"They're high!" Fangs shouts. "Just came running at us with knives!"

Just then I see Sweet Pea trying to dodge and fight off the man. The sliver of silver coloring comes across my eyes. He is fighting without a knife toward a man who clearly has one. I want to reach close to him, tell him to get off but then a bunch of them come out of nowhere. There are people I have never seen before, acting crazy.

They are screaming, running and throwing themselves at people. They are shouting at us, trying to get our attention.

"Hey!" one of them yells. I have never seen any of them before. They are barely clothed and look as if they are all homeless and on drugs. I step toward the only one with a voice.

"Fangs!" I shout. "Help Sweet Pea!"

I go toward a large, younger man with nothing but shorts on. He moves his dark hair out of his face and flips his nasty tongue over his decaying teeth before spitting his words at me.

"Are you the Serpents?" he asks.

"Yeah. What's it to you?" I demand in a voice that I only use when I get angry and frustrated. I kind of don't want Betty to see me this way. It is a darkness I don't like to have out around her.

"Where's your king?" he asks.

"You're looking at him," I say. "What the hell do you want? Tell your guys to back off my Serpents or they'll be hell to pay!"

He starts laughing, like full on belly laughing at me. He holds onto his gut and kneels over, laughing so hard I think he might faint. I take a few steps back, making sure Betty is still behind me. When I feel her there, I squeeze her hand hard.

"Get the hell off our turf!" I shout.

"You messed with us! You messed with our game! You ended everything we had! And now we want revenge and money!" he shouts, going from laughing to anger in mere seconds, which scares the hell out of me, though I try not to show it.

"What are you talking about?" I demand.

Betty leans in close to my ear, putting her weight on my back as she speaks softly.

"They're part of the gargoyle gang. They probably lost everything when Penelope and my dad were done with their little game," she says.

I hadn't even thought about all of the people that they left behind, the dependent drug addicts that now are low on drugs, not getting paid and don't have a leader. All of those people are going to blame someone and who else but the Serpents because two out of the four people to cause that destruction were the Serpent leaders. If they saw any of us, they would have seen that three of us have Serpent tattoos or if they didn't, Penelope sure would have told them.

"Sweet Pea! Fangs!" I shout. They both push the man off of them. Sweet Pea is rocking a bloody lip but looks otherwise okay as he stumbles back to stand at my side.

Then we are at a stand off. Serpents vs. Gargoyles. Standing. Staring at the opposing team with nearly nothing but bare hands and almost no quarrel with the other gang except…neither of us have anyone else to blame.

"We're not leaving until we get what's owed!" the teen shouts.

"This is not going to go well, is it?" Betty asks.

"No," I say. "So much for peace."

 **Please! Tell me what you think! I had some suggestions about doing an AU with Charles and Alice but like…I'm not feeling it. Then I had a suggestion about doing when where Jug gets hurt in the last episode… I probably won't do that but I might incorporate something similar into this. What do you think about this?**


	82. Jumped II

**Thank you for being patient! I just had a new book idea and have been working on writing other than fan fiction. If you guys ever want to read it, let me know! Betty and Jug have to deal with the chaos of being attacked. Also, I added in Missy from "Sweet Pea's Story" fan fiction. So you might miss a little bit if you don't read that fan fiction.**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Jumped II.**

"How about you get the hell out of here and we let you leave with your lives," Jughead suggests.

He keeps his hand on my waist, trying to hold me behind him. I grab his hand and step beside him so that we are on the same level. He flashes me a look that is filled with fear and anguish for me but I give him sympathy in return.

"I've got this," I whisper.

He nods. He has to trust me.

"Hey! Our king gave you a warning. Get off our turf," I tell them with anger behind my voice.

"Ha! That's funny. Gargoyles don't listen to Serpents," the creeper says. I step in front of Jughead and pull out a knife from my back pocket. I snap it open and hold it up to his throat, right against his jugular. Dark Betty doesn't have to go far to be released. She is right there, banging at the door and waiting for me to open it.

I open the door without hesitation in this moment. She is released. My hands become steady with the anger that surges through my entire being. I press the knife against the creeper harder than before and look right into his mad eyes.

"I don't need you to listen," I say. "I need you to get the hell off of my turf or I will rip your ears off and feed them to my dog."

A glimmer of fear flashes across his face. I can even see a trickle of lost hope. He tries to grin with his nasty yellow teeth. Then he looks over my shoulder at Jug.

"What are you doing?" I shout. "I am talking to you! I suggest you look right here, Gargoyle! Take your men and get off of our turf!"

"Who the hell are you?" he says back. I have to look up at him to demand things. He pushes my chest but I push the knife closer, close enough that I see it slice just a little bit into his skin and he starts bleeding. I press harder, more blood falls down his neck. It makes me smile.

"Betty," I hear behind me.

I don't turn around. I don't acknowledge whoever it is that said that.

"I'm the Serpent Queen," I tell him.

"Hey, Moon!" one of them shouts behind him. "Maybe we should get out of here!"

"No!" the man in front of me says. I guess his name is Moon, or his nickname or something. "We stay! This bitch gets her knife off of me and we get the manual! If you find the last G and G manual, we will leave you alone and there will be no fight."

"No! You aren't making the demands!" I shout.

"Yes! Okay!" Jughead shouts behind me.

"Jones!" Sweet Pea shouts.

"Let Betty deal with this!" Fangs agrees.

Jughead pushes his way in front of me and stands just inches from Moon. I want to tell him to piss off, push him aside but then decide that would look bad. We shouldn't be seen disagreeing in front of another gang. We have to present a united front against these guys.

"If we find the last G and G manual, we give it to you guys and you leave us alone. Yes?" Jughead asks.

"Yes," Moon agrees. "But your bitch takes that knife off my throat."

I look up at Juggie. I try to give him the best expressive look that I can give. I think he figures it out. He knows that I don't want to give this up, that I think I can do this without his help.

"If we give them the manuals, they will start playing again and all of this will have been for nothing. We almost died to get rid of this stupid game. We can't just give it up again," I explain.

"We don't even know where any of the manuals are, Jones," Sweet Pea adds.

"I agree with my brother!" Missy says. "We don't have anything to offer them. I'm down for a fight."

Sweet Pea throws his arm around his younger sister. I stare back at the Serpents that we have promised to protect. They are ready for a fight. They are ready to protect our land. They are ready to hold up their end of the bargain and not one of them is afraid of the Gargoyles. Whatever is left of them, they might be angry but they have no leader. We have two.

"You have to have the manuals!" Moon shouts, getting frustrated. He tries to step forward but I press the knife down harder.

"Betty!" Jughead shouts at me, not wanting me to actually slice this mans throat. But I am getting damn close to it if he keeps on playing these games and tricks.

"No! We don't. But I don't want to fight," Jughead says. "We can find them."

Moon laughs and so do some of the others.

"They don't have 'em! But they do have prime playing territory!" one of the others shouts from the back.

"Sweet Pea!" I shout. "Get a knife on that guy!"

Sweet Pea moves from behind me and flips out his knife, pressing it to the mans chest with a sly grin on his face. Missy stands beside him with her knife out, ready.

"Alright! Unless you want to see these two without their heads, I suggest you get the hell off our land. If you want a fight…you've got one."

"It should—" Moon starts.

"No. Serpents decide when and where," I say with anger. "A real rumble. Midnight tonight on the bridge over Sweetwater River."

"Fine," he agrees. "No drinks or drugs. No weapons. Just skin on skin."

"Afraid?" Sweet Pea asks, snaking his knife up and down the mans chest until it slices just above his shirt where his skin shows. He cries out and backs away but Missy grabs the back of his shirt and yanks him toward her brother. Sweet Pea pushes the knife harder against him.

"Ok. Skin on skin," I agree. "But the second one of your people breaks one of those rules, it's game on and we will end you."

"Fine," Moon agrees. "Now let me go."

I look over at Jughead. He looks afraid but I think I am the only one who notices. He nods toward me and I drop the knife from his throat, backing up away from him.

"See you tonight," I say with a grin, stepping back away from him. Sweet Pea looks to me and I give him a nod. He steps back away, pulling his sister with him.

"Betty," Jughead says, grabbing my arm as we watch the Gargoyles walk away. Once they are gone, he turns back to me. "What was that about? We just got out of a war! Why do you want us to be thrown back into one?"

"We've got this, Juggie," I tell him. "We can't let them push us around. If we do, this will never end."

"I hope you're right."

 **What do you think? Please review!**


	83. Jumped III

**Betty and Jughead are worried about the fight. They discuss it with the Serpents and then alone. Let me know what you think or what you'd like to read more of!**

 **Jumped III.**

 **Jughead POV.**

"We're gonna need numbers. The last time we went up against another gang, it didn't end well. We almost went extinct," I explain to the others. Sweet Pea looks almost sympathetic as he remembers it. Betty leans back in her chair outside.

"We can rally the reserves," Fangs offers.

"It won't be enough," I say. "Not with almost every single girl joining the Pretty Poisons."

"We worked with them before," Betty offers. "We can ask them to join back up."

"Or at least to work with us," Sweet Pea says. "Toni will agree."

"Yeah, but will the rest of them? And you know if Cheryl is against it…we're right back where we stared," I tell him.

"She won't be," Betty assures. I really don't want to talk to her about this. Actually, I don't want her anywhere near this. But since she is the one that practically started all of this, I am not going to get that wish.

"Fine," I say. "You convince Toni to bring her gang in with ours. Then we'll have the numbers at least. But what are we going to do about the actual fight. No offense Betty, but you and the rest of the girls aren't exactly fighting material against those guys."

She stands up and puts her hands on her hips. I know that I am going to regret saying that. This is her girl power moment. She puts on that offensive stance that she gets when she is about to run into an argument or even an investigation.

"I got us into this because I don't back down from a fight!" Betty says sternly. I stand up to meet her gaze, trying not to put her down, but in a way, I need to.

"Are you saying I do?"

"You sure as hell were then. I was trying to show how strong we are. We can't have them come in here at all hours of the night and attack us, steal what little we have and destroy our gang. We need to show them the strength of the serpents."

"We don't have much strength right now, Betty!" I say back. "In case you haven't noticed, we just barely skinned by the last battle we got into!"

"Excuse me for thinking that the Serpents wouldn't want to be cowards!" she shouts.

"Don't call me that!" I shout.

"I never said you were!"

"I hate it when mom and dad fight," Sweet Pea says with a joke and a smile. I turn to them, realizing everyone is standing up, staring at us now. They are waiting for us to figure this out so that we can lead them.

"If our leaders aren't on the same page, we should vote," Fangs says.

"Fine," Betty agrees.

"You know they'll all vote for you. They want to fight, no matter what the cost is to your life!"

There it is. The real fear comes out no matter how bad I try to hold it back. They realize now what I am afraid of and why I don't want this fight to happen.

"You don't care about the Gargoyles. You just don't want Betty to fight," Sweet Pea says.

I shrug and turn away from them. I can feel Betty staring at me as I try to get away from the awkwardness of the situation.

"Hold on," Betty says to the rest of them.

Betty follows me as I walk away, back toward our tent. Once she catches up with me, she puts her hand on my shoulder. She turns me around to face her. I run my hand down my face, feeling my shaking hands as my brain races for a solution I know I don't have.

"Juggie," she says in a sympathetic voice. "I didn't know."

"Well now you do," I say, trying to hide my emotion.

"Talk to me," she begs.

I agree. I have to talk to her. The last time I bottled this up, I pushed her away. I can't do that again. I have to tell her, even if it makes me feel stupid and fearful.

"I don't want you to fight them. They're older than us. Most of them aren't even in high school. They're bigger. For all we know, there could be more of them and not a single one looked like a girl," I tell her. It sounds stupid, even as I say it but I don't have a choice. I have to.

"Juggie," she says again, putting her hand on my face. It feels good. I lean into her, breathing deeply and sighing. "I'll be fine. The other girls have fought in rumbles before. I took the gauntlet just fine. I broke Archie out. I fought off the black hood…twice. I am not going to let the Serpents go down as cowards and I am not going to let them fight without their queen."

I know she's right.

I nod.

"Okay. But you have to promise me to be careful and it looks like you're losing, you have to call out to me. You can't just let yourself be hurt by them. I don't know…what they'll do," I say. It hurts to say it. She can tell. I swallow hard and her hand brushes down my face to rest on my chest. She takes another step closer, making me feel close, better even.

"I love you," she says. "Especially when you get all protective over me."

I smile back at her.

"I love you too. But please just promise me," I beg.

"I promise," she says in return and then looks beside my shoulder over at the rest of the Serpents. "Let's go tell the others."

I nod but don't feel convinced yet.

"They are going to like this," she says.

"Unfortunately, you're right. Sweet Pea will take any excuse for a fight," I say. "We have to be careful but I think we can do it."

I follow Betty back to the Serpents gathering.

I hold up my hand, two fangs and bend them down in our symbol. I get a roaring cheer from everyone in the crowd.

"In unity there is strength!" Betty shouts.

Damn right there is.

I turn to her, giving her a small smirk and nod toward everyone else. They all cheer, showing us our symbol and shouting, "In unity there is strength!"

 **What do you think so far? What do you want to read more about? I need LOTS of reviews guys! I want to hear from you!**


	84. Jumped IV

**Betty and Jughead are together before the fight. There is a rustle with the Pretty Poisons (whom I think are a joke and I do not like, btw).**

 **Jumped IV.**

 **Jughead POV.**

"Be with me, Betty," I beg as I hold her hips above mine. She kisses my neck and brushes her lips down the hallow of my throat. I hold onto her hips tight with my desperate fingers. I pull her shirt over her head and uncap her bra. I pull it off of her with rushed hands and kiss her neck down to her chest until Betty reaches down between us. She pushes her hands onto my belt and starts quickly trying to undo it.

She looks down at me with a grin on her face.

"Anywhere we have to be?" she asks.

"No," I tell her. "Except for right here."

"Good because I want you…right now," she says. It fulfills my lust. I reach my arms around her body and pull her down to kiss me as she tries to rip my pants from me.

"Take your—" she starts but then she stops and looks back toward the door.

"What?" I ask her. "Come on, Bets."

She looks back at me and kisses me again, trying to deepen it but I can tell that she is distracted. She stops and rests her forehead on me, catching her breath. Then I can hear it too. A bunch of girls chattering, talking loudly over each other. I look over her shoulder but of course can't see anything in the trailer. I can't hear anything better either.

"What is that?" I ask.

"Girls? I thought that we only had like three after the poisons took them all," Betty says.

"Me too."

"Whatever," she says with a grin and looks back at me. She kisses right under my ear and then along my neck with her tongue brushing the spots that send chills down my entire body. "Who cares, right?" she whispers.

"Right," I agree, flipping her over so that I hold her underneath of me. I kiss her collar bone and then put my arm underneath of her body to make her as close to me as she can get.

"Jones! Hey Jones!" Sweet Pea shouts, banging on the door.

"What the hell," I mumble.

"Do we have to stop?" Betty asks.

"Jones! Open up!" Fangs shouts.

"He's probably in there mixing it up with the queen," I hear.

"Yeah…" I say to Betty, rolling off of her. "We need to stop."

I fix my hair, flipping it back over my head and out of my face. I adjust my shorts and try to fix the belt. Betty puts her bra back on and there is another round of banging at the door. There is more shouting and insistent remarks that come from it.

"Okay!" I shout back…just as the door opens.

Betty rushes to try to put her shirt on but Sweet Pea sees her and laughs as she fixes her pants.

"You were right, Fangs!" he says with a laugh. "I owe you five bucks."

"Really Sweet Pea? You all were betting on us?" I ask.

"Betting on the fact that you two were banging," he says with a joke. I throw my shirt on.

"Well then Fangs would've lost because we weren't banging," I say and then glance back at Betty. "Yet. Thanks to you guys we didn't have time to get to that so what exactly is it that you need so urgently?"

"Come outside," he says, dropping the jokes.

I follow him, feeling Betty right behind me.

When I come out, I see a bunch of Pretty Poisons standing together. They stand there, staring up at me.

"What is this?" I ask.

"Instead of having you convince us to join up with your gang, Sweet Pea said that an alliance would let us get rid of the gargoyles and that we could _all_ share our piece of the pie!" Toni says with a grin.

I don't like it. I don't want to share. I want the Serpents to be the only gang. But for right now, this might just let them see how much they want to be a part of our gang. Plus, we need the numbers.

"If you agree to work with the Serpents. You don't get our job with the Sheriffs station and we don't take your job at Veronica's Speak Easy," I say. Toni nods.

"Fair enough," she says.

"Also!" Betty shouts. "Serpents and Poisons…no sleeping together. I don't want to have to clean up that mess."

"Fine," Toni agrees. "Do we have a deal, Jones?"

"One more thing," I say.

She waits as I cross my arms over my chest. Betty throws on her Serpent jacket beside me as I decide whether to give them the final rule.

"Cheryl stays the hell out of it," I say.

"What?" she asks.

Cheryl steps forward in her jacket, throwing her arms over her chest.

"Yes. What kind of leverage does Riverdale high's lowlife of the month have over me?" she demands, smacking those red lips. I step forward, toward her, feeling Betty right on my heels, constantly supporting me as I do her.

"Not leverage…I need to know that I don't have any loose wires as allies. I have had them before and they never work out. Cheryl is a bomb. We don't have time for one of those right now," I explain.

Cheryl and Toni turn toward each other. Toni says nothing but Cheryl already knows the answer. I know it too. Toni wants to be a part of the Serpents bad enough for her to give up her own girlfriend to be back with us. I know it. But the only way she was going to do it is if it seemed like she still had people to lead and a way to be in charge. By letting her keep the poisons and team up with us, I am giving her both.

Toni turns back to me with a grin on her face. Cheryl looks upset but then throws her arms over her chest to stare back at us.

"Deal?" I ask.

Toni holds out her hand in front of her. I give her my hand and a quick shake.

"Deal," she says.

I loopback to Betty.

She holds out her hand. I take it and pull her back to me. She looks up at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and smiling up at me. God, she is so beautiful. She leans up, almost as if to kiss me. I put my finger to her lips.

"What?" she asks.

"Want to get back to it?" I ask with a grin.

"Don't have to ask me twice," she says, tugging my arm as she leads me back into the trailer where I know my queen will make her most exquisite of appearances.

 **Let me know what you think! Up next…the fight!**

 **I've had some requested Jughead hurt and Betty comfort, which I will do again soon, in a few chapters from now actually.**


	85. Jumped V

**The fight begins! I hope you enjoy! Ideas for new stories? Anything you want to know more about or see extended from the show?**

 **Jumped V.**

 **Jughead POV.**

"Betty," I say, putting my hand on her arm. She lets me pull her aside but looks over at the others as they gather around, cheering, screeching and running toward their fate. I haven't seen them this hyped up in a while. They are really ready for this fight. I am the only one feeling like I don't want to be here. Sweet Pea is practically high on excitement and Jinx is bouncing with it.

"What's up, Jug?" she asks innocently. She is so prefect, so sweet. Sometimes when I look at her all I see is the beautiful naked women I get to wake up to, the innocent expression she gives me when her eyes finally open in the sun.

"I know you can handle yourself but these guys are huge. You need to be careful and I need you to call out for me or for Sweet Pea if something goes wrong. He already knows the deal," I tell her. I told him this earlier. Of course, he's the biggest guy we have and he's my right hand. I know he'll protect her if I can't.

"Fine," she agrees, looking slightly annoyed. I squeeze her hand and pull it close to me. I reach around her body to have her against me. I kiss her hard on the mouth, letting myself feel absolutely everything at once and then I let her go, taking a deep breath.

"We're gonna be fine," I promise her.

"I know," she says and gives me a smile. I try not to worry her but I think she can see how scared I am of her not coming out of this. This is dangerous for all of us.

"Let's do this," I say, grabbing her hand. I pull her with me, cheering and shouting after the Serpents. We all start jumping and cheering together, running toward the bridge where we are going to meet what is left of the gargoyles.

I run with them until I push my legs further, past the rest of our gang. Betty follows right behind me. We both stop, standing together in front of the gang. They all look up to us, slapping each other on the back and elbowing ribs. They all have smiles on their faces and electricity inside their bodies. Their is a fire in their eyes that I cannot extinguish.

This war is going to be hell but we are the hellions that will relish in it.

"Serpents! Poisons!" I shout. "Hey! Listen up! Listen here!"

They start to quiet down but I know they don't want to. They want to keep on cheering and jarring until the war begins.

"Listen up!" I shout again and the final roar dulls down until I have their attention.

"Your queen has something to say," I tell them. I step aside. This was Betty's fight. She will have to do the inspirational speeches. She grins as she stands in front of our gang.

"We are all here because we think we should defend our land! We keep our land, we keep our people and when we win tonight…whoever is left of the Gargoyles will either become one of us…or be banished for good!"

A roar of thunderous cheering comes from the crowd. I stare out at the crowd that we have created, that we have stood behind, that we will ask to fight for us tonight and I am amazed because truly, I am not the one who asked all of those things of them. Betty is. And Betty leads them in these moments.

"Let's fight! Let's win!" she says. "No serpent left behind. If someone is hurt, we stay with them. We help each other. Got it?"

They cheer in response. At least I know, no one will be alone here. We will all get out of this together.

"In unity there is strength!" Betty shouts, throwing her arms in the air.

"In unity there is strength!" I repeat with the rest of the crowd, even the poisons repeat it, which surprises me. I glance over at Betty. She smiles and turns around when we start to hear the gargoyles rally up around us. They start to walk toward us. Their leader grins and holds out his hand. I start to walk forward but Betty beats me to it. She steps in front of me and slaps the mans hand.

Moon grins.

"No weapons. No enhancers. Skin on skin. Deal?"

"Deal," Betty agrees. "Let's fight."

I see Betty's shoulders tense through her Serpent jacket. I see her legs steady underneath of her, her feet hard on the ground in her black shoes. Her hands form fists at her sides. Before I notice her arm move, I see her ponytail swing and I realize…Betty just threw the first punch.

"Betty," I say under my breath, hoping that I can keep my emotions in check and actually go through with this.

I turn to the first gargoyle close enough to me. I punch him in the face, the mask goes flying off of him. Some of them don't have masks on. The first punch doesn't do much damage so I go for another but he runs toward me with his hands out. He tackles me down, pushing me toward the ground. I stumble around and kick his shin to get him away from me. He is hooked onto my body. He won't let me go.

"Fangs!" I shout.

Fangs is the closest one to me. Fangs knees him in the stomach and grabs his arms as he loosens his grip. I kick him over onto his side. I kick him in the stomach and feel someone grabbing me from behind. He locks his arms around my neck and tugs on me. He pulls at me, yanking my feet off of the ground a few times. I knick him in the shins, trying to pull him off of me but I am in a bad poison to do it.

I elbow him in the ribs a few times and then grab finger and pull it back. I pull it back hard and fast until it snaps. He lets go of me. I grin when I feel that power surge through my body. It is a familiar feeling that is boiling in the pit of my stomach. I crave more of it.

I hear the sounds of Betty fighting not far from me. I am reminded of what she is doing and fear rushes through my heart all at once. I don't look over at her. She hasn't called out for me. She's fine, I have to remind myself to steady my hands at my sides.

I turn to the man behind me and punch him in the face. After a brief exchange of punches, I finally knock the son of a bitch out. I brush the blood from my lip and forehead. My head is already aching from the exchange but I try to ignore it. I turn to the next one that is running after me and realize this fight is not going to be over any time soon.

"The leader!" Moon shouts. "Get their leader!"

"What?" I ask, looking around for the other Serpents or Poisons to understand. Everyone is fighting but it looks like we have the numbers. A couple of the Poisons are ganging up on a couple Gargoyles a time.

I hear moaning and grunts coming from all directions. One of them rallies toward me and I punch him in the mouth.

If the Gargoyles were trying to gang up on the leader, they haven't done it yet. I check to see if they meant Toni but she is paired with Peaches, fighting off a Gargoyle with almost no problem.

Then I get it.

They only know one leader.

Betty. They're going after Betty.

 **Jughead's worst nightmare! Ideas for new stories? Anything you want to know more about or see extended from the show? Let's get TEN reviews. I love hearing from you guys!**


	86. Jumped VI

**The rest of the fight and some aftermath! A comment on Betty's strength: Yes! I love how strong she is too. She shows some of it on the show and I think if she harnessed Dark Betty instead of pushing her away, I believe she would be capable of a lot of this. And about you guys wanting more of Jug being protective over Betty…here we go!**

 **Also, someone wants to see Betty interact with the other Serpents, I am doing that here too!**

 **Jumped VI.**

 **Betty POV.**

A gargoyle strikes my face hard in the jaw. I stumble backwards, almost shocked at how bad that actually hurt. I wasn't expecting it. But after the gauntlet, I know what physical pain feels like. I punch him back when he rears his arm. He stumbles too so I take the opportunity to punch him again in the jaw. He grabs my arms, trying to push me down to the ground. I kick and thrash against him but at this angle, I have almost no ability to push against him. I try to get him off of me but it's not easy.

I won't call for help.

I can't get Jug involved in this. He will never let me fight again and I got everyone else into this fight. It's my responsibility more than any other Serpents.

 _Fight them, Betty. Fight them for the Serpents._

That is enough for me to push harder, getting his one arm off of my shoulder. I knee him in the stomach and then grab his throat when he topples over. I twist his knee, sending him to the ground and holding him down with my other hand on his neck. I hold my arm around his neck, trying to choke him out. I wait as he struggles. He sends me back to the ground, his back on my chest, his weight crushing me. I fight against him harder, pulling as hard as I possibly can.

They threatened our peace. They threatened our happiness and my Serpents home. They were going to take their home. Toni's trailer. Sweet Pea's trailer. Fang's tent. Jinx's tent. They were going to take them all and then kick us out.

I don't have to call for Dark Betty. She is right there, waiting for me to let her out. I shoot a glance at the nearest Serpent. Sweet Pea rushes over and pushes his knee down on the man's hip. The man almost stills as he groans out in pain. I pull just a little bit harder as Sweet Pea holds him down. He can't move and I am able to choke him until he passes out. I let him go when I feel his body relax in my arms. Sweet Pea gets off of him and gives me a wild grin. The kind of grin that I can appreciate. Sweet Pea is gentle but he has a wild side that craves chaos.

I can personally appreciate that.

Then I am punched in the back of the head.

I get thrown forward on my hands and knees. I try to turn around but it hurts so bad I can hardly see straight. I try to stand, wobbling on my legs and trying to get back up. But I stumble and fall down again when the ground seems to be moving underneath of me. It makes me feel sick. I stay down on the ground for a second, trying to regain my balance when I feel a blow to the stomach. I am send flying out on my back. I hold onto my stomach when I feel it again, against my hand this time. It's so hard my fingers go numb and then my ribs.

This is more than one person.

I have to stand up. If I don't, I'll die down here. I use my good hand to push on and make my legs hold me. I stand slowly but it is enough because I form my hand into a fist and throw it in the direction closest to me. I make contact with someone's face. I throw another punch at the same man. He is almost out so I do it again and again until he falls on the ground. He probably broke my hand and my ribs aren't doing well. There is a bloody taste in my mouth. I believe it's from him too.

I get on top of him, push my knee right above his hips, harder and harder until he almost can't struggle. Then I punch him. I let all of the shaking anger that is in my body out as I punch him so many times, I think I brake his face. I don't care. I stand up and turn back around, punching the very next person that I see.

Now I don't feel like I can control dark Betty. I can't control the anger that is surging through my body. I let myself destroy anyone that comes into my path.

"Their leader! Get their leader!" someone shouts.

Jughead. I have to get to Jughead. I have to help him before they gang up on him.

I fight my way through, punching, kicking and jarring anyone I can out of my way. I take a couple more punches to the side, which make me cry out in pain. I try not to make a sound because I know Jug will worry and come get me. But it really does hurt.

My mouth tastes like bloody. My teeth feel slimy with it. My body is already sore. I fight through all of it, punching and not caring when I realize that I have at least four or five gargoyles in my direction at one time. I try to fight them back, to fight them off but they are pushing my down, holding me down.

One has my hand and squeezes as hard as he can. It hurts so bad that I see stars in my vision.

I can't help it. The pain is too much. I can't get out of the circle they have created. I can't run. I can't fight back with them holding down my arms and I can't kick my way out with them holding me down. I thrash as much as I can but soon, I realize that I am not going to be able to.

"Jughead!" I shout out. "Jughead!"

They aren't going after him. They think that I am the leader. They are going after me.

"Jughead!" I beg again.

"No! Let me go!" I hear. I know that is his voice. They are holding him back so that he cannot help me. I am starting to lose it because I can't fight them off. There are just too many holding me down all at once. I try to push them away but it doesn't matter. I am just punched again and again. Soon, I can hardly feel my body.

Just blackness and pain.

The only thing I can make out are the dark eyes of a tall man above my head as he smashes his way through the gargoyles.

 **Who is going to save Betty? Up next: interactions with the other Serpents, Jughead being protective, Jughead hurt/Betty comfort and Betty strength with the Serpents.**


	87. Jumped VII

**HEYYY. Just met a bunch of the actors at Riverdale Con. Were any of you there? It was super fun! Jordan Connor was awesome. I got his meet and greet and he told us a bunch of great stories and some of his own theories on Sweet Pea. Also, Hart, who plays Chic, is super sweet and really funny! He had the audience laughing so hard.**

 **Anyway…let's save Betty.**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Jumped VII.**

"Come on, Betty," someone says. It's a deep voice, a strong voice. It's a trustworthy voice but not something that I can pinpoint. Who is it? It doesn't matter at the moment. Everything just hurts so bad. I roll my head over to the person. He is carrying me. Definitely a man.

Juggie?

I'm so tired.

I close my eyes and let my body relax, letting my head fall back. Suddenly, I am not as sore as I was before. I am not sore at all actually. I can't feel the pain that was all over my body just moments ago.

"Betty," someone says. "Come on, Betty. Just stay with me. Just keep looking at me. I'm gonna save you."

The person sounds determined but scared, possibly because I look horrible. I sure feel terrible. But I don't think I'm in danger of dying, right? I mean, I don't know what I broke but it couldn't have been that bad.

What can I feel? I manage to open my eyes but when I do…I am not in anyone's arms. I am back at the dinner table with my family.

My dad is at the head of the table. Jughead is sitting next to me and Polly is across from me, feeding Juniper. Then Jason walks through from the next room carrying Dagwood. He smiles at us as he sits down at the table with the baby still in his arms. I look around the room, realizing that everyone is staring at me.

My mom is at the other side of the table, all in white with one hand in Edgars and the other in Evelyn's. I look between them and then back to the family that is surrounding me.

I turn the side.

Jughead. He is staring at me too. He is staring down at my stomach, almost like in my lap. It's weird so I look down but see nothing, just my stomach. My round, large stomach.

"Jughead? How did? What…? When?"

"Betty?" Jughead asks.

I stand up and slam my hands down on the table.

"Betty! What are you doing?" Polly asks with a concerned expression. "You don't want to hurt the baby."

"What?" I ask.

I am so confused and scared that everything in my body feels wrong. I want to crawl out of my own skin and run from it. I look back at Jug. He puts his hand on my back and stands up, concurred for me.

"What's going on?" I ask again.

"What do you mean, Betty?" Mom asks. "We're just having dinner as a family."

"Family? No. We aren't a family anymore. Dad is dead. You, Polly, Edgar and Evelyn are gone! Jughead is…Jug is in a fight! I don't even know if he's okay and Jason has been dead for two years now!" I shout.

"But Betty you can see us because you're dead too," Mom says with a smile that scares me. I try to lean back away from her, getting away from the whole situation.

"No. I'm not."

"Yes, Betty. You didn't make it out of that fight with the other Gargoyles. It was your choice to fight. You knew that you could get a lot of people hurt. You just didn't think it would be you," Polly says, still holding Juniper on her hip and looking as if she feels higher than everyone in the room. It makes me angry but I can't do anything about it.

"Me? Wait. Then why am I pregnant?" I ask.

"In this life you can be whatever you want. Since you missed the opportunity when you were alive, your subconscious made it up for you here," Mom explains.

"This doesn't make sense," I say. I turn to Jughead and put my hands on either side of him, trying to wake him up or get him to pay attention to me. "What's going on? Please Jughead! Jughead! Tell me what's going on! What's happening? Jug! Juggie! Tell me!"

I feel as if this world is slipping away. The colors fade slowly and then I am alone and it's dark. I can't see anything. No is around me. I open my eyes slowly and see a white hospital room. I was dreaming. It was all a dream. It was just a really terrible dream and I am in the hospital.

"Betty! It's not Jug. It's Sweet Pea! Hey, Betty. It's Sweet Pea," he says over and over again.

I turn my head to the sound of the frantic voice beside me. He has his hand on my shoulder and when I look at him, however frightened my face might be, he smiles. He gives me a real smile that almost makes me feel better. He keeps his hand on my shoulder and sits back down in the chair beside my bed. He had been there the whole time while I was sleeping.

"What happened?" I ask.

"The Gargoyles ganged up on you," he explains.

"I remember that part," I admit with a smile. It hurt. My body feels sore, very sore. My ribs hurt and my head does too. My legs feel bruised and I don't think I could sit up if I wanted to. I feel like half of my body is in a cast and the other half is just sore.

"Well you were calling for Jughead because you couldn't get out of there. He was busy so I beat them down and then I took you. The fight was basically over by then. I rounded up the Serpents, gave them their grids and then brought you here myself."

"Wow," I say. "Thank you, Sweet Pea."

I notice the blood on his face now. He has blood on his clothes, on his shirt and a little on his face. He has a couple of bruises on the side of his head and one on his arm that looks like it came from nails digging into him. I brush my fingers against it and he winces but doesn't pull away.

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

He shrugs.

"Better than you," he says. "No broken bones, which you do have, by the way."

"Broken bones?" I ask, looking around. Then I see my ankle in a splint and put it together. When I try to look down, I feel a pulling on my ribs and then a shooting pain. I grab my ribs and lay back down fast, wincing and trying not to call out.

"Easy! Betty, you have a broken foot and three broken ribs," he says. "You have a lot of bruises and your wrist is fractured. They said you should be okay but you were really losing it there for a while."

"Losing it?" I ask. "You mean I was dying?"

"Basically. It was pretty scary. You almost gave me a heart attack."

I give him a small smile. "Sorry about that. I'm glad you're okay. How about the rest of the Serpents?"

"Not bad. No one with as serious injuries like yours. No one except…"

"What?" I ask. He looks down at his hands. His hands are shaking. He bites his lip really hard as he squeezes his eyes shut. I put my hand on his, trying not to get up out of my bed and scream to the world to tell me what could be so wrong.

"Betty, I'm so sorry. I tried. I tried everything that I could. But I couldn't carry you both and I needed to save you," he says.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"It's Toni."

 **What do you think? What happened to Jug? Give me some guesses guys!**


	88. Jumped VIII

**Now we can find out what happened with Toni and Jughead!**

 **Let's get some reviews guys!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Jumped VIII.**

"Let me go! Let me go!" I shout at the arms that are locked around my body. I tug at them, trying to pull them away, push them, kick them, but nothing works. I try to get them off but there are too many of them. I am being dragged away from the rest of the Serpents and the Poisons. I don't think anyone knows. I can still hear Betty screaming my name. It hurts the very core of my soul.

I am thrown onto the cold, dirt ground with a loud thud. Pain shoots up my side as I adjust my place on the floor, trying to scramble to my black combat boots but I am just kicked down again.

"Stay down, pal!" someone shouts.

I look up and find the same gargoyle that was with us earlier. He smiles at me and folds his arms over his chest. He puts his muddy boot on my shoulder and digs his heal down into the soft part of my skin. He pushes it down further until it hurts. I wince but grit my teeth, trying to show him no pain because I don't know what he'll do to me.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Nothing really," he admits. "I just don't want you to save your precious Queen until my men are done with her."

"If you touch her—!" I shout but he digs it in harder until I am pretty sure I am bleeding. I grunt but try to push him off. That only digs him further down until my shoulder is being pushed down to the ground completely and a little twisted. It hurts but I keep my eyes deadlocked on him.

"We'll do whatever we want with her," he says.

"I'll kill you," I promise through gritted teeth and shaking hands. Two of his guys are holding me down the rest of the way but I don't care. I feel like I could take them all right now.

"That's a big threat for a guy who lets his queen talk for him," he says.

"What century do you leave in, buddy?" I ask him. "Women make their own decisions now, just like men. And yeah, Betty is our queen. That means she makes decisions for the Serpents."

"For the Serpents?" one of his buddies asks.

"That's right," I agree.

"Big words."

He picks up his foot and slams it down onto my shoulder. I grab it and hold on as tightly as I can, closing my eyes in pain as it shoots through my entire body. It hurts so bad that I think I might lose it so I bite my lip and force my eyes back on him.

"Leave her the hell alone or I swear to god I will kill every single one of you," I say.

"And go to jail?" he asks. "No. Not the Sheriffs son."

"That's right. My dad's the sheriff. You really think he'll let me go to jail? There are a lot of people at that rumble. Mistakes can be made," I promise them. He kicks me hard in the stomach. I curl up in a ball and spit, trying not to throw up. I crawl to my hands and knees and then try to straighten up, sitting back on my heels to look up at the man that is threatening my people and my love.

"Not if we kill you first," he says.

I laugh at him. I laugh right in his face. It doesn't feel good but it makes him look crazy and confused. He shakes his head, looking around at his men. I throw my hands up.

"I promise you if I don't go back there you will make me a martyr. Same with Betty. Even if you do manage to get rid of me, the Serpents will make you feel heights of pain you couldn't possibly imagine," I tell him.

He grabs the back of my hat but before he has a chance to do anything about it, I grab his hand and snap his finger back so fast, he doesn't even know what happened until he is looking down at his broken finger. The first guy to run up to me gets punched down with one punch to the jaw. The next guy is a little more difficult. I have to wrestle him a little bit. Him and I wrestle when the third guy gets on my back. I elbow him in the ribs until he falls off.

I turn around and punch him in the face. Someone grabs my head and tries to pull me back but I flip around and kick him in the shins before I punch him again. I jump on top of him and punch him a couple of times before he is out cold. I turn around and realize they are all down. I try not to feel satisfied with myself before I see their leader with his broken finger. He looks down at it and then back at me. It's almost as if he is thinking about doing something but I am not really sure what he can manage after I broke that.

I look around at all of them and then back to him. I grab his shirt, still feeling the anger boiling inside of my gut. It pushes on my insides until I am nothing but rage. I pull him close to me, getting into his face.

"Get the hell off of my turf and take your pathetic excuse for a gang with you," I say. I start to let him go but just before I do, I pull him closer and give him a grin.

"Oh, and never touch my hat."

I throw him back on the ground with a short laugh and walk back to the rumble sight. A few Serpents are walking around with their hands on their heads. Poisons are almost no where to be found, except for Peaches. Most of the Serpents have gone already. Jinx looks like he is the only one that has any idea what is going on. I jog over to him.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"We thought you were dead," he says. "No. No. They took me. But I'm fine. I mean, I think my shoulder needs some serious healing but I'm okay. Where did everyone go?"

"Sweet Pea sent them out," he says.

"Why is Sweet Pea ordering the Serpents?" I ask, confused and a little scared. Then I put it together. I look around the area, the ground, the Serpents, the Poisons.

"Betty. Where is Betty?" I demand.

"She was looking really bad, Jones," he says. "Sweet Pea told most people to go look for you. He told some of the Poisons to go back to Tent City to watch after it while they wait for news."

"What are you talking about? Jinx, what the hell happened to Betty?" I ask.

"They beat her up. Sweet Pea took her to the hospital. She looked so bad off, Jones," he says.

I start to run away toward my bike when he grabs my shoulder. I scream out in pain and turn around, pushing him off of me as fast as I can.

"Jughead," he says. "It's not just Betty."

"Who?" I ask.

"Toni."

 **What do you think happened to Toni? Thanks guys!**


	89. Jumped IX

**Back to Betty and Sweet Pea. I'm glad you guys are liking where I am going with this. Yes, we will find out what happened to Toni. To be honest, I am not her biggest fan but I want to use more Serpents/Poisons and not just Betty and Jughead. Also…I may bring in the other half of the core four.**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Jumped IX.**

"Sweet Pea?" I ask, turning over. I push the tray of food aside. I am not very hungry, even though everyone has been trying to get me to eat. He leans over onto my bed and sits down beside me.

"You okay?" he asks.

I nod.

"I was just wondering about Jug," I admit.

Sweet Pea has stayed here with me. He told me that Jughead told him to keep an eye on me and to protect me if he needed to. I can't be mad at him. If he hadn't told him that, Sweet Pea isn't my biggest fan, and might not have noticed that I was getting pummeled. But I like to think that if he did notice, if anyone noticed, that they would have tried to help. At least, I have him now. Since he told me that, we have talked about the others and waited to hear literally anything from them. It has been hours since the fight started. I'm worried about what is going on with Toni. But all we know is that someone pulled a knife on her and that she was bleeding. She had to go into surgery. Jughead should be with her. Cheryl might be with her but no one has heard much from Cheryl recently.

"He's in the hospital," Sweet Pea says. "He must be okay because he told me to stay with you and give him updates. He said he's the only one with Toni right now but that her uncle should be coming to see her."

I nod.

"Is Missy okay?" I ask.

He nods, his expression softening every moment he hears anything about his sister. Though he doesn't want his sister in the gang, in the city really, he loves her. He just wants to protect her from everything that happens in Riverdale. Unfortunately, we can't all protect everyone from what happens in this town. Even little Jellybean was crushed under the weight of it all for a while. I'm just glad she is out of all of this right now.

"Missy's fine," he says. "She wasn't in the fight."

"How'd you convince her of that?" I ask with a smile. He shakes his head, leaning back on his hands.

"It wasn't easy. But I couldn't look out for Missy and the queen and still manage to fight for myself," he admits.

"You do a lot, Sweet Pea," I tell him, being honest. "Thank you for finding me and for bringing me here."

He nods.

"Part of the job," he mutters. But it isn't part of the job. As much as he has given me crap about everything that I am, north sider or not, he has protected me in the Serpents. He has supported me when I needed to deploy the Serpents. He has always come through. Maybe he doesn't think I am so bad after all. Maybe we are actually going to be friends. I would really appreciate that friendship.

Sweet Pea stands up, probably to walk back to his chair and stands straight up for a long moment. He stares out so that I can only see his back. He wavers a little to either side and then I realize what is happening. He falls over, to the ground in a loud thud.

I am not fast enough from my bed to grab him so I have to move the sheets and carefully limp over where I can put my good hand to his face. The side of his head is bleeding a little and his eyes are closed. He looks as if he's in pain, even in this state of unseeing. I push the nurses button right next to me as I hold onto Sweet Pea's head, trying to access the damage of his bleeding. He groans after a long moment when I touch it. The nurses aren't answering and Sweet Pea needs help now.

I press the button again and again and again, really fast and start screaming for help. Someone has to hear me.

"Sweet Pea, come on," I whisper to him. "Just wake up. It's gonna be okay."

He doesn't respond. I press my lips together, trying to think of something else that I can do. The hospital is busy but someone has to hear me. Sweet Pea is still breathing but he looks like he's in pain and his head is bleeding. He probably has a concussion if he didn't already.

"Sweet Pea, come on," I say again. I can't move him. He's way too big for me to even try but I can go get help. Then I would be leaving him here alone, which I don't want to do.

"Help! Please! Help! Someone come in here! I'm in room 103! Room 103! Jughead! Jughead! Help! Jinx! Someone!" I shout over and over again.

Finally, someone runs into the room. I look over my shoulder and his mixed eyes are staring back at me through a mask of pure panic and fear. His hat perfectly stilled on his head, his face still bloody from the event and his body hunched over, as if in pain.

"Juggie," I mutter.

He runs over to the other side of the bed to where I am and puts his hand on my face.

"I'm okay," I say. "Sweet Pea passed out."

"What happened?" he asks, putting his hand under his friends head. He looks at the blood and then down at his large body. Sweet Pea is taller than Jug, probably bigger too. But not by enough that he can't drag him. Jug looks worried and then nods.

"You get the doors and I'll bring him out there. There are nurses running around everywhere. Someone has to help," he says.

I nod. I scramble to my feet and open the door for him as Jug struggles to drag him across the floor under his arms. He pulls him along as best as he can, tugging toward the door and then through it.

"You should sit back down," he says through the pain of holding up all of that weight. Sweet Pea is still out cold. His head doesn't look like it is bleeding anymore but it bled down his face and onto his shirt, probably from hitting the hard ground.

"No," I tell him. "He took care of me. I have to do the same for him."

Jug doesn't argue. I'm glad. I go with him as we get out into the hallway. We keep pulling him along. I end up trying to help Jug but he just tells me to stop because of my bad wrist and limp with the cast on my ankle and foot. I hobble after them, screaming for someone to notice us. Two nurses come out of a room and see us struggling.

"Oh my!" one of them shouts.

They both rush over to help lift him onto a gurney. It takes all four of us and a couple of minutes before we are able to get him onto it safely.

"What happened?" one of the nurses asks as Jughead puts his arm around me. His hand is shaking against my side when he does so. I hold onto his hand as tightly as I can, reassuring him but I can tell he is trying to hold up some of my weight.

"He was in my room and he stood up and wavered and then passed out," I say.

"What's his name?" the other nurse asks.

"Sweet Pea."

"What's his whole name?"

"We don't know. His last name starts with an M but that's all we've got," Jughead says.

They look confused but nod. Sweet Pea lives a very private life. He puts everything he has into the Serpents and he doesn't care about "his real name". To him, the Serpents are his family and that is his only name.

"Was he already treated?" they ask as they start to access him right here in the hall with a pen light and a stethoscope.

"Breathing is shallow but not bad," one says.

"Yes," I say. "He told me he was fine."

"Fine?" one of them asks. "He clearly has a concussion. Look at these bruises on his face too. That might be a fracture."

"He fractured his face?" Juggie asks.

"Quite possibly. Your friend is hurt."

I don't understand how that is possible. He said he was fine. He said that the nurses already checked…no he didn't. I just assumed that he did. He told me that he was fine and then told me how I was injured. He never said that they looked at him or anything about his injuries at all.

"Wait. Maybe he wasn't," I admit. "He didn't want me to know he was hurting. He was trying to take care of me."

Jughead pulls me closer.

"We need to get him to a room."

"I'm going with you," I insist.

"No way," the nurse says. "Get back. Family only. We need to treat this concussion."

"We are his family," I tell her. "We'll call his sister but he doesn't have anyone else."

Jughead is standing right beside me, a united front. The nurses look back and forth between us and then nods with a roll of her eyes.

"Fine," she mutters under her breath as we start walking toward a room. "You Serpents are going to be the death of this hospital."

 **Sweet Pea and Betty friendship. What do you think? And what do you think will happen with Toni? I am definitely taking this a lot further than I thought I would. At least two more chapters to come! Thanks guys!**


	90. Jumped X

**WAHOOO! Over 200,000 views! This is great guys!**

 **This is a lot longer than a thought, which is probably really great! Yes…I will bring the other half of the core four into it eventually. What do you think about Jug and Betty's relationship growing the way it has?**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Jumped X.**

"He'll be fine," the nurse tells us. "He needs to stay in bed and we're going to monitor him. He was not seen by a doctor previously. He lied to you, girl."

"Well, to be fair, I didn't ask," she says, putting her head in her hands. She looks afraid. She leans down and rests her elbows on her knees. I put my hand on her back and pull her closer to me on the bench. She rests her hands in her lap. I put my hand on her wrist, brushing my fingers across her good one and looking down at the wrap that is still on her hand and wrist. It makes me nervous. She will probably notice my racing heart rate and my shaking hands.

Sweet Pea moves his head to the side and groans. His hand twitches at his side and his body starts to move as if he is waking up. The nurse takes off the few things she had on him to check his vitals and then puts them aside.

"He's waking up," she says. "He's gonna be okay."

I nod but still feel weird, nervous about what is going on with everyone. This fight was dangerous. I knew it would be. But this…I would never have let the Serpents get into this if I would have known my right hand and one of my best friends would be this hurt. And Betty…I can't even think about how hurt she is without feeling a tightening in my chest. I let this happen. I let all of this happen.

"What's going on?" Sweet Pea asks as he wakes up.

"You passed out but you're okay. You have a concussion but luckily, that is your only injury. Your concussion is moderate so you will need to refrain from exercise, activity and anything stimulating for a while. The doctor will give you orders but right now, I need you to stay calm, lay down and don't do much thinking or moving. Just try to relax," she says. It doesn't make much sense to me. How can he stop himself from thinking too much? I didn't know a concussion like that was going to be so bad.

Sweet Pea nods but doesn't say anything. He looks over at both of us but I think he is locking eyes with Betty. I can't tell but I think he is trying to smile at her.

"Glad you're okay," he says.

"Thanks," she mutters. "I'm sorry I didn't ask about you. I thought that you would have told me."

He shrugs but stays laying down so it's awkward. Betty leans forward, leaning her arms on the edge of his bed. It makes me feel good, to see them talking like this. Sweet Pea must feel better knowing that we aren't going to abandon him. He keeps his eyes on us as the nurse goes toward the door. She turns back around.

"Two minutes and I need Betty back in her patient room," she says.

I nod to her.

"I'll help her there," I promise. I turn back to the two best Serpents in front of me.

"You feel okay, Sweet Pea?" I ask him.

"Think so. I did what you asked," he says.

"I know," I tell him, standing up. I put my hand on his shoulder so he doesn't have to strain to see me. He looks so weak. He's such a large man, so tall and strong that it's strange to see him this way. "Jinx told me that you were ordering the Serpents."

"I wasn't trying to take your roll, Jones. I was just trying to help," he defends. I squeeze his shoulder harder and Betty leans forward, a little closer to him.

"I know. I was about to thank you for doing that. For taking on the Serpents when I couldn't and for—" I get a sudden rushing feeling. It whooshes over my entire body and suddenly I feel weak. I rock back and feel woozy. I make myself steady but my ribs suddenly throb in pain. It's like the adrenaline fell out of me and now I can feel every ounce of pain that was waiting to come out. I hold onto my side with my other hand and wince. Betty puts her hand on me.

"Juggie?" she asks.

"I'm okay," I mutter.

"Did you get checked out?" Sweet Pea asks with a sarcastic grin.

"Actually no," I admit, feeling a little worse by the second. "I think they might have broken my ribs but I'll be fine."

"Maybe you should go see a doctor," Betty suggests.

"Okay," I agree, feeling awful. My head starts to hurt and my stomach clenches. I walk toward the door, making my feet move despite the pain, but then remember that I was telling him something important. "Thank you for saving Betty and for keeping your word with me and for leading the Serpents. You deserve some rest. But we'll let you know about Toni when we know anything."

"Thanks," he says.

"I have to go back to my room," Betty says, squeezing his hand. "Your sister should be here soon."

"I'll be fine," he says with a smile. "I just need some sleep."

Betty follows after me as we leave the room together. She holds onto my arm when I lean over my ribs. She helps me as I walk slowly toward her room.

"Where are you going?" she asks me.

"To your room."

She is about to protest. I can't handle that. Ii turn to her and grab her hand as tight as I can. It hurts her but I need her to know how serious I am. I look down at her cast and then at the one on her wrist, then to the bruises on the side of her face.

"I just need to be with you," I say in a voice that is begging.

She doesn't say anything. She just nods. There are two beds in most rooms anyway, except for the surgery prep and the severe patients. Betty has an extra in hers. We can just call the nurse and…my ribs hurt more, down into my lungs. I hold onto them tightly as we walk together. I sit down on the bed across from her.

She calls the nurse without me saying anything and hobbles back over to me.

"Are you in pain?" she asks me.

I nod.

"Are you?" I try to smile when I ask her.

"No," she says. "I'm fine. Broken bones heal."

The nurse comes in moments later.

"What is it, Elizabeth?" she asks, looking annoyed and then looks down at me. "Are you okay? Were you in the fight?"

I nod.

"Where are you hurt?" she asks.

"My ribs and my stomach."

She nods and grabs a hospital gown at the end of the bed. She begins taking my vitals and writes them all down. After that she hands over the hospital gown.

"Get changed and then I'll come back with the doctor to check over your injuries," she says.

I nod to her and she is gone. It is a fast encounter but I don't care. I just need to calm down enough to get the hurt to go away. I need to lead the Serpents back into rallying around each other right now. With so many of us hurt, they need strength from their leaders.

When the door is closed, Betty stands over me and takes my hat off first.

"What are you doing?" I ask her.

"Helping you. I know you're in pain, Juggie. It's okay," she says. I don't deny it as she starts helping me get undressed.

 **What do we think about their relationship development?**


	91. Jumped XI

**There is a new guest that is giving lots of reviews! Welcome to my fanfic! You mentioned something about me not talking about guest supporters, but I don't really talk about anyone specifically. I always say thanks to everyone! I do respond to people via messenger on here when I can. But yeah, if they don't have messenger, I will still answer their question, just before I post something. About Betty and Toni fighting...I can definitely add that into one of my fanfics. That's a great idea! Thanks! Glad you're enjoying!**

 **xxx**

 **Jughead and Betty have to deal with their injuries while assisting the Serpents and the news of Toni…**

 **So I have an idea: what do you all think of a story about Alice and FP when they were in high school?**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Jumped XI.**

"Betty, wait," Jughead says, panting out of breath after the third time we try to pull his shirt off. He groaned all throughout taking his jacket off and now his shirt is only off of one arm. He is in so much pain. I stop helping him and wait as he looks up at me, catching his breath.

I rest my hand in his hair, playing with it as he tries to calm down. I soothingly place my hand on the side of his face and then down his nose. He lets me do this, closing his eyes and losing himself in it for several seconds. Then after a long moment, he nods.

I help him take his arm out of the shirt and then over his head. I fold the shirt through his groans and put it at the edge of his bed with his jacket. We have to do the same thing with his undershirt. He calls out in pain when I move his arm on the right side. I do it as fast as I can but when I am done, there is so much pain on his expression that is scares me. I rest my hand on the side of his face so he can lean into it, catching his breath and letting the sweat fall down his face.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He nods, catching his breath. Eventually, he holds out his hand. I help him stand up and then put my hand to his back to steady him when he wobbles. I keep my hand there and start undoing the shirt around his waist, then the belt and then his pants. He smiles at me and I shake my head.

"Just focus, Jones," I tell him, joking. He does, taking off his pants and boots but keeping his boxers on. I help him slip into the gown and then tie it in the back.

"Are you okay?" I ask, probably two too many times. He smiles a little as he sits back down.

"Yes, nurse Betty. I'm okay," he promises.

"Sorry. I'll stop asking that now. I'm just worried about you," I admit, holding onto him. He nods.

"Hand me my hat," he says.

I give it to him and he puts it back on, fixing it around his face. I sit in the bed across from him when the nurse comes back in. She goes over to Jughead and starts taking his information, talking to him and assessing him. I try not to watch the whole thing. He is in a lot of pain from his stomach and ribs. But hopefully it is just some cracked ribs and nothing else is wrong.

"You have a very scared red headed friend out in the lobby," the nurse says, looking back at me as I sit in panic for Jughead.

"Archie," I say.

"Probably," she agrees.

"Can you send him back here?" I ask.

She nods and then turns back to Jughead. She finishes up with him. It is just a few minutes before she is wrapping up his sides and then having him lay back down. The conclusion becomes clear very quickly. He has two cracked ribs and with the amount of bruising on his stomach, she would have been worried about internal bleeding if— it doesn't matter. He's fine now and he just needs a while to heal. He's just in a lot of pain and probably scared to death.

"I love you, Juggie," I remind him. He rolls his head over to the side, his arm still slung across his ribs but there is a smile on his face.

"I love you too," he says. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so scared for you."

"I know," I say. "I think you still are."

He shrugs.

"I didn't want you to get hurt."

"I am the one that decided to do this fight, to be a part of it, so if it's anyone's fault, it's mine," I say.

"Don't do that," he says, shaking his head. "Don't assign blame. We're gonna be fine. The Serpents wanted to do this. They got themselves into this on purpose. Sweet Pea, especially. We're all fine. You have the worst injuries…except for Toni."

"Speaking of Toni, why haven't we heard anything?" I ask.

"They are probably not done with surgery yet or something," he says. He leans his head back down on the pillow behind him with a small wince. There is a knock on our door.

"Yeah?" I ask.

Archie walks through. I stand up and reach out for him. He wraps his arms around me, holding me so tight I think I might break. His own arms aren't as steady as they usually are. I can feel him trying to bring me as close to him as he can.

"What the hell happened?" he asks.

"The Serpents and the Poisons had a throw down with the Gargoyles."

He pulls away from me a little bit and looks into my eyes. He looks so scared. I put my hand on his arm. He looks down at my wrist and then down to my foot. His hand brushes across the side of my face.

"You were in the fight?" he asks.

I nod.

"I'm the Serpent Queen, Archie. Of course I was in the fight," I assure. "But I'm okay. Broken bones heal. It's not that bad. It doesn't hurt much anymore."

"Damn it, Betty," he says and then pulls me in for another hug. He holds onto me for a long second. It makes me feel good, having him hold me like this. I hug him back and then after a long moment, he sighs and lets me go, looking around the room.

"Jug?" he asks. "You look awful."

He walks over to him and hugs him from the bed but then stands back up, keeping a hand on his shoulder. They look at each other and then behind them, Veronica steps through. I hug her, trying to ignore the worried expression that is all over her face too.

"I'm fine, V," I say.

"What happened?" she asks.

"A fight," Archie answers.

"That I wanted," I say, defending Jughead. "It was against whatever was left of the Gargoyles."

"We won, believe it or not," Jughead adds.

Veronica and I sit back on my bed as Archie sits on the edge of Jugs. We all sit around, sharing our stories and feeling a little bit less like the world might end. Archie even gets out a sharpie to sign my cast. Each one of them signs it, which makes me smile.

"It really doesn't hurt, B?" V asks.

"No," I say with a shrug. "It's okay."

"What about you, Jug? How are you feeling?" Archie asks, nudging his best friend.

"Okay," he says. "Better than earlier. But it hurts to move around a lot. I think it'll just take a little time."

"Who else was in this?" V asks.

"All of the Serpents and the Poisons. We worked together to fight them for the numbers," Jug explains.

"It was my idea," I defend. "I called the fight and decided where and when."

"Why?" Archie asks, looking freaked out. Veronica looks at me the same way, a little scared. I know what I am capable of and what I did. I am not ashamed of it. I am just sorry that people other than me got hurt in the process.

"Because we had to stand our ground. We can't give up the small pieces of land that we have. If we don't stand up for ourselves now, they will always try to push us around," I say.

The nurse walks through the door then.

"There is news on Toni Topaz. Her next of kin has already been informed," she says.

"What is it?" Jughead asks quickly, sitting up and wincing. Archie puts his hand on his back to help him.

"Toni is out of surgery. She had a perforated kidney. It couldn't be saved. It was removed," she says. "She is in recovery now and she should be okay."

 **That's it for now. Maybe one or two more! What do you guys think about a story about Alice and FP as teenagers? Please let me know in the comments/reviews! I need at least FIVE comments on that for me to decide if I'm going to do it or not because I want opinions!**


	92. Jumped XII

**They are all back in the Serpent Den, healing up and rehashing what they are going to do to protect themselves from future threats, as well as how they are going to work with the Poisons.**

 **GO FOLLOW AND REVIEW FALICE! It's all about FP and Alice falling in love, being together and then starting up the midnight club. I uncover the secrets Alice has hidden for so many years.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Jumped XII.**

"Hey, Sweet Pea," I say as I watch him try to stand up. "Sit back down, man."

"What do you need?" Betty asks. She puts her hand on his arm, pushing him back down gently. He sits back down with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm going crazy in here! I've been sitting down for a week!" he complains. I respond with a short laugh, leaning back in my seat and burying Betty closer to my side. She adjusts her leg that is still in a cast. She rests her head back down on my chest but is looking over at Sweet Pea.

"You're going to stay calm here with us for as long as I have to keep you," I tell him.

"Do you need me to get something, Sweet Pea?" Betty asks again.

"No," he says. "I'm just restless."

"Shouldn't Toni be here soon?" Jinx asks. He's flipping a ping pong ball, playing with it only himself because the rest of us are pretty injured. I'm mostly healed now, just sore. Betty is still in a cast though, which I hate. It makes me nervous every time she walks. Sweet Pea's concussion was way worse than he thought. He's going to be on rest for a while.

"Yeah," I tell him.

"She's bringing the rest of the poisons," Peaches says. She showed up here last week and has been hanging out with us. She's not wearing our jacket but I can tell that a couple of the poisons were pretty interested in the way we do things.

"You guys feeling okay?" I ask everyone.

"Not too bad," Sweet Pea says. "Just glad that I could see Betty healing after all of that. And you too, Jones. We were all really worried about you when we realized that we didn't know where you were."

"I was glad to see you stumbling my way, that's for sure." Jinx says, almost smiling about it now. I am too. The pain is almost gone. It was just another fight for another day. It was just another event that I passed over. But for Betty, it was so much more. She leaded us through that but then she was hurt so badly. She pushed us through because it was important to her to have the Serpents stay proud and strong in their own homes, even if that is still partially tent city.

"Me too," Betty says, leaning in close, wrapping her arm around my waist. She holds onto me tight. I feel safe having her so close to me. I lean down, taking in the scent of sweet Betty and her perfectly tight ponytail. I kiss the top of her head, making me feel warm inside, letting it spread all over.

I never thought that being surrounded by the Serpents with Betty in my arms would be how my life would go. But here I am with the Serpent Queen and the Serpents that are slowly coming back together and damn, I feel good.

We hear a couple of noises around the door. I turn toward the door but don't let Betty out of my arms. She sits up, craning her head to the side. Toni is walking in slowly with her arm over her stomach. She smiles as she walks toward us.

"Hey guys!" she says with all of the cheer she can muster.

Cheryl is not in tow, which I find strange. But no one has seen much of her. She has been acting strange whenever anyone talks to her. I don't know what's going on with her. But I don't think Toni does either.

"How are you feeling, Toni?" I ask her.

"Not so bad," she says. "You know…when I left the Farm, I thought that I wouldn't have to give up any organs but they said it couldn't be saved and it would create more havoc to my immune system to keep it in there."

"Eh…you only need one anyway."

Sweet Pea stands up to help her over to the couch. He helps her sit down beside him while the other couple of poisons hustle in behind her. They all stand around us. There are a few casual conversations but most of them are looking between Toni and I.

"Jones," Toni says with a grin. "Good fight."

"You too," I tell her. "Glad you're okay."

"You too." She turns to Betty and rolls her eyes but she still has that smile on her face. "And you too, Betty. I'd fight with you again. You held your own. The Poisons and the Serpents…I think we can come to a deal."

Betty grins and then turns her head back to me, looking up.

"Told you," Betty says.

"Never doubted you for a second, Nancy Drew," I promise her, squeezing her shoulder a little bit. She leans her head back down on my shoulder but then looks out at the rest of them.

"Hey, I wanted to tell you all something, now that the Poisons are here too," Betty says.

"Spill it," Sweet Pea agrees, leaning back in his chair. He rests his head back against the sofa. Toni is sitting beside him, looking paler than usual but actually better than I thought she would.

"I appreciate you all fighting with us… for us and for the Serpents land," she says with pride swelling in her chest. I can practically feel it radiating off of her. "Without your support, many of you would not have a home right now and this very place we are sitting might not be ours anymore. What we have is so important. I promise to always stand up for you and to protect the Serpents from whatever others may throw at us."

"We'll always fight with you, Betty," Toni says.

"Yeah, you proved yourself damn well last time," Jinx says with a grin.

Sweet Pea lifts up his head and holds his hand out to her. She looks down, takes it and their hands interlock. It doesn't make me uncomfortable at all because I can see it in his eyes. He finally has decided not to argue her rule anymore. He has decided not to argue my rule anymore. He trusts us to lead the Serpents and he trusts us to lead him.

"I trust you, Betty," Sweet Pea says with seriousness. "It's clear you're not your mom and that when we didn't know her whole story. We're here to help you just like we know, you're going to fight for us."

"Thank you. That means a lot," she says.

My Betty. My Serpent Queen and everyone that trusts her.

 **Alright. Well That is it! Let me know if you guys have any suggestions or anything you'd like to see expanded. Also, I'd like to know any thoughts you guys have on Alice and FP as teens!**

 **REMEMBER TO FOLLOW AND REVIEW FALICE!**


	93. First Day of Junior Year

**One shot. Betty's first day back at school her Junior year. She comes to school from Jughead's house in South Side clothes. Many students and friends are not thrilled with the kind of person Betty has become. This is partially because of a suggestion. Thanks guys! Enjoy!**

 **Betty POV.**

 **First Day Back**

I roll over in bed, leaning on Juggie's arm to kiss his forehead. He wakes up, opening his eyes with a confused and tired expression. When he sees me, he tries for a warm smile but he's so tired, it's mostly lopsided, which is adorable. I smile back at him, give him a quick kiss and then roll out of bed.

"Where are you going?" he asks.

"School," I say.

"Oh damn," he mutters. "First day back. I forgot."

He gets out of bed right after me and stumbles to the kitchen, muttering something about food and hunger, which is not surprising. I hear him getting food, flopping around the kitchen at this ungodly hour. I forgot how early we had to get up for school. I am still exhausted but feeling good to be doing something that is not Archie's trial.

Plus, I have a plan that not even Juggie knows about. I'm going to make a statement the first day of school. No more good girl. No more girl next door. No more of the one who always does the right thing. I'm the Serpent Queen now. Daughter of the black hood. Possible savior of Archie Andrews. I have something to prove.

After brushing my teeth and pulling my hair out, letting it fall around my shoulders in curls, I throw on what I have always wanted to wear. No more pastels and pink. I put on black rose tights underneath of high waisted jean shorts. I sleep my feet into combat boots, lace them up and then throw on a dark red shirt. I tie one of Juggie's flannels around my waist and then put on my Serpent jacket. I put on my usual make up but darken the lipstick. I make small adjustments, fixing myself in the mirror when I hear Juggie back in the bedroom, getting dressed.

When I come out, Jughead is fixing his hat on his head. He turns around and stops in his tracks. A look of shock comes over his face before it turns to a sly, sexy smile.

"How much time do we have?" he asks with a grin.

"Very funny," I say with a smile in return. "We have to get to school."

"Ugh, you're killing me," he jokes, hitting my ass on my way by him. I walk out to our bikes with Jug behind me. In our serpent jackets and south side clothes, we are going to stick out like a sore thumb and yet, I am sort of proud of it. I have been rocking this south side Serpent thing all summer and to be honest, the Serpents are a part of me that I never would have indulged without them. That darkness that I wanted to get rid of for so long is still there. But this way, it is contained, it is used and it is productive.

We ride our bikes all the way to school, parking next to the other Serpents. Some of them have already gathered outside the school. Sweet Pea is sitting on the brick wall in front of the school by the staircase, talking to the others. He is the first one to see me. His eyes go wide and his eyebrows raise. His mouth opens just a little and then he is hitting the other Serpents, pointing in my direction. I look to Jughead with a grin.

"You're a dangerous snake, Cooper," Jughead says.

I grab his hand as we walk toward the Serpents.

"South Side queen owning it!" Sweet Pea shouts, holding out his hand. "Never thought I'd be happy to take orders from you." We slap hands in mutual understanding.

"Me either," Cheryl says with a shrug, walking up in the most ridiculous long red dress and heels that I have ever seen for school. But over that dress she is wearing a red serpent jacket that I sort of admire. "Nice statement peice, queen."

The bell rings, warning us that we have five minutes until we have to get to class. I squeeze Jughead's hand beside me.

"We'll see you later," Toni assures.

I nod in their direction as Choni leaves, walking back toward the school. The rest of the Serpents go on talking for a minute, muttering, discussing and groaning about going back to school.

"Betty…you're really a Serpent?" Josie asks beside me. I look over, a little surprised.

I nod.

"Well…good luck with that," she says and starts to walk away.

"Hey, Josie!" Sweet Pea calls after her. She doesn't seem to notice him. She keeps walking but when I look back at him, he looks angry. He grips the edge of the brick wall he is sitting on as he watches her walk away, knowing she is ignoring him.

"Get off the wall, Sweet Pea," Principal Weatherbee states. He jumps down and then flicks him off when the principal turns around to head into the school.

"Cool it," I tell him. "There are plenty fish in the sea."

"Yeah, plenty of fish that are not as diva as Josie McCoy," Juggie adds. Sweet Pea leans against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. I almost feel bad for him. He has had a rough time recently. After all, being dumped and having your sister randomly show up after not seeing her for years, having to testify in court against a friend and going back to school is probably hard.

"Jughead!" Veronica shouts with a cheer in her voice that I have not heard recently. It is a little weird that she noticed him before me though. "Have you seen Betty?"

"Um…" Jughead stutters and then just looks to his side where I am standing. I turn around to see Veronica with shock on her face. She is in a dark dress, heels, carrying a designer handbag.

"What? Betty? What is this?" she asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask, acting as if nothing had changed. I don't want her to think that this is different from the norm. I have a darkness that deserves to be harnessed, not held back.

"What have you done to yourself?" she asks.

"Nothing," I say.

"Okay I am going to assume this is just some phase you are going through but Betty, this is…not you!" she says with shock.

"Yes it is," I tell her. "I'm a Serpent. You know that. These are my people and I am not going to push them away."

"That doesn't mean you have to flaunt it!" she says, clearly annoyed.

"I am not ashamed of being a Serpent, V. I ran the gauntlet. I did the dance. I got the tattoo and the jacket. I have lead them through battles and I have helped them through tough times. I'm sorry you don't like who we are, Veronica."

She looks shocked but then shakes her head and walks away. Jughead looks disappointed. He puts his arm around my waist when she is gone. I lean on him.

"Sorry," he mutters.

"She'll come around," I tell him.

I tug on his hand as we walk through the school together with the Serpents walking behind us. We are the definition of a gang in this school. We catch glances of almost every single person as we walk together. Teachers and students alike all look to us as if we are the cool kids in school. We're just the cool kids that everyone is afraid of instead of the ones everyone wants to be.

I turn to my classroom with Jughead still in my hand when Kevin puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Is this a good idea, Betty?" he asks.

"Yes," I say firmly with a smile and walk into class. The teachers watch as five of us sit down in the back of the class. I cross one leg over the other and lean back in my chair right as the bell rings.

"Just made it, Serpents," Mrs. Applegate says.

Sweet Pea shrugs beside me. I roll my eyes as the teacher crosses the classroom.

"I want to start out by saying that while Principal Weatherbee has agreed to allow Serpents back into our school, even after they trashed it and after all of the terror they have brought down on us, I have not," she says, clasping her hands over each other. Then her eyes lock on me and she tilts her head, looking confused. "Betty Cooper?"

"Yes, Mrs. Applegate?" I say.

"You are a Serpent now?" she asks.

"Looks like it."

The other Serpents all give a short laugh. That felt really good. I am tired of people telling me that I should make different decisions, that I should stop being a Serpent or drop them. But why should I? They helped me. They gave me a place for my darkness. They gave me somewhere to belong.

"Well… I am not tolerant of this ridiculous gang," she says. "If I hear one peep out of any of you, you are expelled."

"What?" Sweet Pea shouts.

"How is that fair, Mrs. Applegate?" Cheryl asks.

"I don't care about fair."

"Well we do," Jughead says. "You can't discriminate against us because of things we have done in the past. This is a whole new school year and we haven't done anything wrong."

"I've heard about your fights over the summer. The things you got into and what you did to the school," she says.

"This is ridiculous," I tell her, standing up. "Treat us the same as everyone else just like we treat everyone the same. But if you don't want to…we do have ways that we treat unjust people, Mrs. Applegate. I just thought, you wouldn't have to find out," I say.

"Betty," Juggie says beside me as a warning.

"Like mother like daughter," Mrs. Applegate says. "Sit down, Elizabeth Cooper. I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

I smile at her and sit down as she directed. When I do, the other Serpents give me a grin and a look of approval. Sweet Pea reaches over, giving me a fist bump.

"Nice, Serpent Queen," he says.

 **What do you think? Any more ideas for Serpent Queen stuff or Bughead?**


	94. Poisons vs Serpents I

**The Serpents and The Poisons cannot seem to get along. After a fight at school, Betty, Jughead, Toni and Cheryl decide to have a meeting with their prospective gangs all together to sort this out. Finally, what people have been asking for, a Betty and Toni fight. Of course, featuring Betty as Serpent Queen.**

 **Poisons vs. Serpents**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part One**

"We haven't been able to gain control over the Serpents ever since the damn Poisons came into our lives," Jughead says as he runs a hand through his hair, leaning on the side of his bike. He stuffs his hat into his pocket before handing over a helmet. I put it on with a shrug.

"We just have to remind them that they are just a second hand gang," I say. "They have no real purpose. The Serpents are generations old. We provide care to each other. They're just a leather sorority house."

That makes him laugh briefly. He puts on his helmet and throws his leg over the bike.

"If I never kicked out Toni and Cheryl, this wouldn't have happened," he says. "But to be honest, the rest of the Serpents hated having Cheryl in our gang. We all knew she's a loose cannon and she can't be controlled but we didn't know that it might literally get us mixed up in a war."

"It's not your fault. We all knew that Cheryl was a ticking time bomb," I tell him with a shrug. I am not at all interested in getting Cheryl back into the gang. She is crazy with a cherry on top. Toni deserves to be a part of the Serpents but she is so obsessed with Cheryl that Toni can't see past her.

"Jones!" I hear someone shout. I throw my leg over my bike to find Toni rushing toward us. She stops in front of Jughead with her arms raised. Cheryl comes walking behind her, clicking her heals against the ground. Both of them are wearing Poisons jackets and look pissed.

"What the hell do you want?" I ask them.

"We want your gang to stop harassing our girls!" Toni shouts.

"Are you kidding?" I ask her, getting off the bike.

I walk toward Toni, getting closer to her face. This girl has made me angry since the first day I saw her, flirting with my boyfriend. Then she made it worse by making out with him the moment that we broke up, knowing he was still madly in love with me. A girl like that doesn't deserve her own gang. I tried to give her some benefit, since she was a Serpent by blood. But in this moment, I don't care.

"Your girls jumped two of our members! They didn't fight back because they thought they couldn't hit girls! The only reason your girls are still alive right now is because our guys are too kind and chivalrous to fight back," I tell her.

"Whatever," Cheryl says. "Your boys are too weak to try to—"

"Too weak? Then why did you have sex with Sweet Pea just a few days ago in the girls locker room?" I demand. "Don't bother denying it. Sweet Pea has a blabbing mouth and a lot of friends to share his wows with."

They both look a little shocked. I can feel Jughead staring at me. He probably had no idea either. But to be fair, Sweet Pea was bragging about it to his friends, including me, just a few nights ago by the fire under the stars. And he wasn't even drunk.

"That doesn't have anything to do with—"

"Alright! That is enough!" Jughead shouts. "You want to talk this out? Figure out how the both of our gangs are going to survive in this town? We have a meeting at Pickens Park so that it's no ones territory and we decide what to do with our gangs."

"Fine," Toni agrees.

"We don't have to agree to anything, Toni," Cheryl insists.

"Babe," Toni says, looking back at her girlfriend. "We have to figure out how we live in the same town together."

"Let's go, Bets," Jughead says.

I throw my leg over the bike and rev the engine right by Cheryl.

"I'd move before I run over your feet," I warn her. She steps back with a roll of her eyes. The both of us ride off away from the two Poisons and toward Pickens Park. Once there, we let the gang know, calling and texting everyone we need to be there. It isn't long before the gang follow us, gathering around the park on our side while the Poisons are on the other side. Cheryl and Toni are the last ones to show up. The entire time I can feel my blood boiling in my veins. I can feel anger shivering through my entire body. I can feel it all over my body, in my blood, in my bones.

"How are we going to get through this without fighting?" Sweet Pea asks the both of us in a hushed tone.

"I was wondering how we are going to get through this without kicking Toni's ass," I say.

"I'd like to see that," Sweet Pea says with a short laugh.

"I'd like to avoid it," Jughead says, crossing his arms over his chest. Once Cheryl and Toni arrive, the gangs seem to rial with their perspective leaders. They stand together, banding with their people and feeding off of it. With a tough glare, our gang steps toward theirs first. With Sweet Pea on my right flank and Fangs on Jug's left, the rest of the gang rallies behind us, looking dominant and evil in their plaid and black leather. I even have on a pink plaid flannel across my waist and a tight black tank underneath of my Serpent Queen jacket. My jean shorts, while not practical are short enough that everyone can see my Serpent tattoo. If anyone was ever thinking that I had mixed allegiances, they are sure of where I stand now.

"Let's get right to it, Jones," Toni says. "You think your gang won't fight mine because we're girls."

"Right. Because you knew that if you attacked my lead guys that you would win because they wouldn't throw a punch." He takes a step forward, toward Toni. "Look, Sweet Pea is over six feet tall. If he really wanted to mess you up, he could. But he's a good guy and he doesn't like hurting girls."

"What's the real problem here?" Cheryl asks.

"The real problem is that you think you can tag our turf. We have control of Riverdale high, the trailer park and we want our jobs at the speak easy back," Jughead says.

"How do you expect to get that if you want fight us?" Toni asks.

"I don't expect a fight," he says.

"You want a fight?" I ask, stepping in front of Jughead and toward Toni. I push my chest against hers, staring right into her eyes.

"You and me. Skin on skin. First person to knock the other out wins," I say with a shrug. She looks shocked, as if she doesn't want to fight me but then I decide that I don't care. I want to hurt her a lot more than she wants to hurt me. And that will give me an advantage.

"Let's go," I say. "Winner takes all."

"This is a bad idea," Jughead says.

"No," Sweet Pea says, putting his arm on Jughead. "This is a great idea."

 **What do you guys think of this one?**


	95. Poisons vs Serpents II

**Betty and Toni get physical. Jughead doesn't like it and sets some rules with Cheryl.**

 **I wrote a new Core four fanficiton (bughead and varchie). Please go follow and review THE MIDNIGHT CHILDREN! It is a longer version of the last episode of Season 3 where they must fight against time and themselves.**

 **Poisons vs. Serpents**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part II.**

"If we're gonna do this, there are going to be rules!" Jughead shouts over the roar of both crowds. I put my arms across my chest, folded as I stare Toni down. She looks at me and then over my head at the others, at the Serpents that are all backing me up.

"Since my guys don't want to hit girls and your girls would be petrified by my guys…we're going to do this the hard way. Serpent Queen against the Poison Princess," Jughead says with a grin.

There is a loud roar from the crowd behind me. It sends electricity through my body. I can feel my hands shake at my sides and my body become lit with excitement. Dark Betty is ready to come out of her cage to play. I just hope Toni is ready for her.

"First rule, no hair pulling."

"Don't flatter me, Jones," Toni jokes.

"Second rule, punching or wrestling only. I don't want to see any weapons or gouging out eyes or anything like that," he says.

"Fine," we agree.

"Shake hands," Jughead says.

We stop toward each other and slap hands. It is a quick gesture before we step back, holding our arms up in a ready position.

"Third rule!" Cheryl shouts. We all stop to look at her with confusion. "There will be no physical interference from either gang at any point! Cheering, of course, is permitted."

Jughead looks reluctant. He shoots me a glance that I can tell is fearful. He doesn't want anyone to know but he will interfere if he has to. He will break that rule in a second if I go down and then it will be an all out war, which we want to avoid. I will have to win to avoid all of that.

"Fine," Jughead says. "Let's do this."

I turn to Toni with a grin on my face and keep my hands up. We start circling each other. I look at the way her feet teeter. She is right handed by the way she holds her arms up and her frame is smaller than mine. If I can get her down, I can pin her. I just have to get her down first.

I lung at her, throwing a low punch to her side. She groans and tries to hit me back but I move away quickly. I do this again, charging at her, hitting her side twice and then backing up. When she charges for me I jump away from her, catching my breath. I attack again, hitting twice and jumping back. I do this a few times, tiring her out and myself from all of this rushing around. Eventually, I can't take this anymore. She is clearly not going to be the one to attack me. She is expecting me to do the same thing over and over again but one time she is going to catch me. I have to change that tale.

I tackle Toni, throwing her body to the ground. Surprisingly, Toni throws her body over mine so that I am on the ground. She gets in a good punch to my face, digging her knee into my arm. I feel my hand start to throb against the ground, my elbow digging into the dirt. I call out in pain again, shouting but trying to figure out a way out of this.

"Get off of me!" I shout, kneeing her back a few times. She throws her body forward. It gives me a little leverage to get one arm loose. I punch her across the face and then grab her neck, throwing my arm around her and trying to flip us both over. We wrestle like this, deadlocked against each other, pinning the other one into complete stillness.

"Come on, Bets!" I hear Jughead says. "Come on!"

"Get her off!" Jynx shouts.

"You've got this, T-T!" Cheryl shouts.

Loud roars of both crowds overwhelm my ears. I have to get her off. I can't let her knock me out. I can't let her win. She has me on the ground, pulling her body further and further away until my arm releases from around her neck and I have no grasp. She pushes my hands against the ground, pushing her elbow to my throat. She pushes it harder, trying to cut off my air. I wrestle her, pushing her back but it doesn't work. I fight her off as hard as I can, moving my entire body when I feel pain in my head. I feel a throbbing at my throat. I don't know that I can get her off of me.

The blackness starts to come. I feel woozy.

"No! Bets!" Jughead shouts. "Get her off!"

"Betty! Listen to me! Betty!" Sweet Pea shouts. I can hear his voice over the others. "Do not let her do this to you! She made out with your man knowing you two still loved each other! She made out with Jughead, Betty! Are you gonna let her win?"

Hell no.

Dark Betty takes over. My hands shake with anger. My body seizes with the pain of it all. I grab her elbow and use her as leverage to turn her over onto her back. I fight her off, pushing her against the dirt. I dig my knee into her thigh, right against her artery. I push as hard as I can, keeping my leverage with one leg on the ground. I lean down and put my elbow to her throat, pushing down on her neck.

"Your gang is a pathetic bunch of brats!" I shout in her face. "And their leader is a cheating bitch!"

I cut off her air, pushing harder against her throat until I see her eyes start to waver, her body start to shake.

"Keep going!" I hear.

"Fight her off!" Cheryl shouts.

"Come on, Toni!" Peaches says.

"Don't let her go!" Sweet Pea says.

I push on her until finally, her eyes are in the back of her head and her body goes limp, no longer fighting me off. Her arms are off of me, flopping on the ground. Her head is tilted to the side and her legs are limp underneath of me. I get off of her with a grin on my face, a shaking feeling of revenge pulsing through my veins. I turn around and lock eyes with Sweet Pea first. I rush over to him, throwing my arms around him.

He is surprised but after a long moment, he hugs me back. I pull away from him, slapping his hand with a grin.

"You're the best," I remind him.

"You were great," he says.

I turn back to see Cheryl hovering over Toni. Peaches is right by her side. The others all look annoyed and slightly shocked. I am smiling with my hands across my chest and a satisfied feeling in my chest. Jughead puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Okay, I'm glad you won but about what Sweet Pea said…I didn't know you were still mad about that," he says.

I shrug. "No one really forgives another girl for kissing their man," I say. He looks a little hurt, maybe surprised. I can't read his expression so I just put my hand on his and squeeze his fingers.

"If you want to talk about it, we can, later," I say.

He nods and puts his hand to my face, a little gesture of good will. He brushes his finger down my face, along a bit of blood and then takes his hand away, looking sad.

"Let's get you cleaned up," he says.

"First thing's first," I say, turning back to the others. I throw my arms up in victor.

"Serpent Queen takes the victory!" I shout. "And that means that Riverdale high, Sunnyside Trailer Park, and our jobs back at the Speak Easy. Good luck finding a place where you're welcome now. The Serpents are legacy. We are generations old. We are the only gang that will ever be a real part of Riverdale. You know that. You might as well give up."

Cheryl holds Toni around her shoulders, looking freaked out and shaken. Awfully, it makes me feel good. I don't want her to be satisfied with herself and what she is doing.

"We're a family," I say with a final bow. "You're just a bunch of girls that can't even hold up in a fight. You have no purpose and no place in Riverdale."

"Goodbye Poisons," Jughead says, wrapping his arm around me.

The Poisons all look to each other and start backing away. Cheryl has to hobble with Toni across her shoulders. I turn back to the Serpents with a loud cheer.

"Serpents! Serpents! Serpents! Serpents!"

The roar becomes equivalent to the beat of my heart.

 **One more part to conclude this little tale. I hope you all are enjoying. GO FOLLOW MY NEW BUGHEAD FANFICTION PLEASE! THE MIDNIGHT CHILDREN! Thanks guys!**


	96. Poisons vs Serpents III

**Betty and Jughead talk about the fact that she was still mad about Toni kissing Jug. She heals up and they have some private time back in his house (the old Cooper house).**

 **PLEASE GO FOLLOW/REVIEW "FALICE IN THE MIDNIGHT CLUB" AND "THE MIDNIGHT CHILDREN"!**

 **Poisons vs. Serpents**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Part III.**

Jughead holds out a washcloth to my face, wiping away the blood. He looks worried as he brushes away the hurt from my face. Then he goes down to my hands, washing away the blood and brushing his fingers across the bruises.

"Bets," he whispers.

"I'm okay," I tell him. "I got, like, two cuts and some bruises, Juggie."

He looks worried. He presses his lips together, shaking his head and taking a step forward so that our bodies are pressed against each other. He reaches his hand out, caressing the side of my face. I lean into his touch, letting my head fall to his hand. He holds onto me carefully, looking down into my eyes.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers.

It makes my heart melt when I hear the words drip from his mouth like velvety cheese. I reach across us and put my hand in his hair, pulling his hat off of his head. He gives me a small smile when I push my hand into his hair, playing with his long, dark locks.

"I love you," I whisper to him.

"I was so worried about you," he admits in a deep, raspy voice.

"I know," I say, keeping my body close to his. "I heard you."

"I still am, actually," he says.

"Why?"

He looks reluctant and then squints down at me, trying to get me to say it before he does.

"You're worried that I am still mad at you about the kiss with Toni," I say to him. He nods.

"Are you?" he asks.

"No. But I never really got angry. I never wanted to think that you were really with her in that way. But yeah, Juggie, it makes me angry that seconds after we broke up, you tried to get with someone else," I explain.

"I never tried to get with her," he corrects, holding his hand up. I keep my hand on his hair, trying to keep myself calm so that this conversation can go by quickly. "We made out, Betty. That was it. I…did some stuff to her but that was as far as we went and you know that."

"I know," I say, shaking my head.

"It was a mistake," he says. "Is that what you want to hear? Of course it was a mistake. I never should have touched her or gone anywhere near her. I never wanted anything to do with her. She has some pretty horrible, dark demons. She knows what she wants out of life but she is rough and tough. She is not what I want, Betty."

"I have dark demons too," I say, tilting my head.

"Yes," he says. "But she lays all of hers out for everyone to see. She wants people to think she is tough and hard core. You're more than tough, Betty. When you need something, you are deadly and not at all afraid to get it. You and I work together so well, we always have. We solve mysteries and crimes but…more than that, no matter what is going on, we are always supportive of the other. Toni can be self loathing. Betty…what I am trying to say is that there are a million reasons why I want to be with you and don't want to be with her."

"Okay, okay," I say with a grin. "You don't have to convince me. I know you love me. I know you never even liked her. It just hurt that you could even kiss her. Plus, I felt like as a girl, knowing that you just broke up with someone, it was partly her fault too. She shouldn't have come close to kissing you. That wasn't fair."

"I know," he says.

"We will always be together," I promise him.

I lean close to him, our hands linked together.

"Are you still angry with me?" he asks.

"No," I say. "That's the thing. I wasn't angry with you, Juggie. I was angry with her."

"That's why you were happy to fight her," he concludes with a nod.

"Well that and I hate her stupid gang of bitchy girls," I admit. He laughs at that.

"Me too. They're annoying more than anything else. Let's just make sure they stay out of our way and we won't have to worry about any other gangs for a while," he says.

He throws his arms around my waist and I lean up to kiss him. We kiss for a long moment, living in each others embrace. We kiss back and forth a few times, kissing and touching. I lose my hands in his hair. His hands cross over my waist. Our kissing deepens as we throw our bodies together. His grip tightens against me.

"I'm yours," he whispers against my lips. "I could only ever be yours."

I kiss down his neck and across his chest, ridding him of his shirt. I reach down to his pants as he tries taking my shirt off. We gather ourselves in a bundle of arms and legs and twisting. We both give out a short laugh before I throw my shirt off and then get rid of his pants, leading him back to our room. I close the door behind us. He kisses my lips, coming down to my neck and kissing me again. Then finally, he reaches over to my waist, pulling back a little. When I think he is going to take my pants off, he looks down at my waist.

"You're bruised," he whispers with a sigh.

"I know," I say. "It's okay. It's no worse than when I ran the gauntlet."

He leans down to brush his lips over the bruises on my side and waist, then the one that is across my collar bone before making his way back to my lips where we hold each other close.

He pulls away for a moment, staring into my eyes.

"Did you ever imagine, the two of us…Serpent King and Queen?" he smiles.

"No," I say with a grin. "But we're damn good at it."

 **Hope you guys enjoyed Poisons vs. Serpents. Go follow "Falice in the Midnight Club" AND "The Midnight Children"! What do you guys think about the Midnight Children? Who's excited?**


	97. Nick St Sicko One Shot

**Nick St. Claire comes back to Riverdale for a final torment before he is in his "accident." He tries to harass Betty while she's walking to school. This is right after Betty and Jug get back together. The Serpents find her and…well you'll find out what happens. Thanks for the support! I know a lot of you really want more chapters in this one. Let me have some reviews on this one and I will post a NEW AU!**

 **Nick St. Sicko (One Shot)**

 **Betty POV**

I have about a million things to think about on my way to school today and the fact that I think someone is following me is not one of them. I have this strange feeling in the back of my head that someone is walking behind me. I hope to god that it is not the black hood. But it feels different than that. He is still talking to me. He still wants to know me and talk to me and convince me to do his bidding. But that's okay because he's looking at me and no one else. I don't mind it. He wouldn't follow me. If he wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already.

Lord knows, I have done enough sinning.

I keep walking, keep my head down and just don't think about it. My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pick it up and answer it with a received smile on my face.

"Juggie," I say.

"Hey, Bets," he says. "Sorry I couldn't walk you to school today. There was this thing with Sweet Pea but it's fine now. Anyway…how are you doing? Did you sleep okay? I know that thing with Nick was weird."

"Well I'm fine," I say in a super awkward tone that probably sounds scared or weird. It is strained, that much I can tell on my own. Jug sighs and then sounds concerned. I have not convinced him of anything and I can feel that person still walking behind me.

"You don't sound fine," he says. "You sound tired. Are you okay?"

"Didn't sleep well." I say.

"That's okay. I'll come over tonight…sneak in the window and I'm sure I can make you sleep better."

"Funny Jughead," I say.

"Hey, Betty Cooper, right?" I hear behind me. I turn around to find Nick St. Claire standing behind me. He runs up to my side and walks with me, shoving his hands in his pockets. He is wearing a button up and slacks, like he just came from a meeting or a strange prep school thing. He looks very out of place in Riverdale. Right away, I know he is the bastard that has been following me.

"Go to go, Juggie," I say into the phone. But I don't hang up. I just shove my phone in my back pocket, making sure to be careful so it doesn't hang up and he can hear everything that is going on.

"What the hell do you want, Nick?" I ask him.

He gives me a grin.

"Oh, come on, Betty. That third degree that you gave Veronica at the party the other day…that was seriously hot," he says, leaning closer to my side. He bumps my shoulder so I start walking faster, as fast as I can without running away from him. I turn the corner, going the same way that I always go to school because just another block and I will be close to the school. Someone will notice him. Jughead will hear me. I won't be alone.

"You can back off right now, Nick. I have no interest in you and I never will," I tell him, pushing my hand off to the side. He walks around me so that he is walking on the street side, which worries me. The dark look in his eyes doesn't make me feel any better.

"Come on, Bets," he says with a nudge of my shoulders again. "Just come back to the hotel with me and I'll be sure to show you a good time."

"A good time?" I ask. "How about get lost before I call the cops."

"You don't scare me, sweetheart," he says, walking with me, even as I walk as fast as I can. "Just think about how many rich people you see in jail. None because we can pay our way out of just about anything. I paid my way out of Cheryl's case and I could do the same with you. But I think you want me. There was something going on with you at that party. I think you need to get laid."

"Get laid? Wow. Get the hell away from me," I shout at him. This time I start running as fast as I can toward the school. I still haven't seen anyone but if they see me running, someone might come over to me. Then I remember my phone. Jughead is still on it.

"I'm just one block away from the school," I shout, feeling someone grabbing me from behind. I feel Nick's hand go to my shoulder and then to my arm, yanking me back. He tugs on my body, pulling me back toward him until I trip over myself and scramble to stand up again. I scramble up, hoping that I can get my footing before he grabs me again.

"Let me go! Let me go!" I shout, hoping that someone will hear me.

Nick grabs me at my waist and turns me around, throwing me on the ground and holding my hands down. He is snarling at me, growling as he tries to pin me down to the ground. He's high. That's why his eyes looked crazy before. He's been high this whole time.

"Nick! Stop it!" I shout, then decide that I need Juggie to know where I am, to help me. "I'm just a block away from the school in front of the last house at the neighborhood!"

I feel a blow to my face and then he wraps his hands around my wrists. Nick pushes me against the ground, grinding my arms into the concrete so that I have to arch away from him. He leans down to push his lips to mine but I snarl my teeth and bite him as hard as I can. He screams, pulling away with one hand to his mouth.

That gives me the advantage to reach up and punch him in the face. I knock him silly and manage to push him off of me. I scramble to my feet and start running again, feeling my heart beat so hard in my chest that I think I might explode. I push my legs faster, my heart harder and my breath louder until I think I am far enough away from him.

I stop for just a second to breathe when I feel cold, clammy hands wrap around my waist and pick me up from behind. He starts dragging me away as I scream and cry out, kicking at him. But he is bigger and has me around my waist. His hand goes up to my mouth, muffling my cries. I beg him to stop, kicking as much as I can and thrashing all around. He doesn't let me go. He still has the perfect grip on me. I look around me to see that we are on the side of this person's house. It is the last house before the path to the school. He throws me down to the ground. I look all around me for an escape route. Unless someone walks by right in front of us, no one will be able to see what is happening. I have to get Juggie to find me.

I can't let this happen to me.

"Juggie! Juggie! I'm at the last house! Please! By the bushes on the side!" I shout.

"What are you shouting about?" Nick asks with a horrible grin, seething and trembling all over. He leans over my body, putting his weight on me as he presses himself closer, making me sick to my stomach. "Who are you calling for? There's no one here. It's seven in the morning and no one is here to save you. You might as well just go with it."

"Go to hell!" I scream and then spit in his face as he pushes me down further, digging my spine into the grass. As Nick leans up to unbuckle his pants I punch him across the face but he punches me right back and then puts his knee on my stomach, jamming it into my rib cage. I call out with the pain, holding onto the wounded part. I try to get up, hit him again, but I can't move. It hurts and he's pinning me down.

"Betty!" I hear someone shout. Not just anyone though. Jughead.

Jughead and Sweet Pea rush over to Nick and grab him by the shoulders, throwing him to the ground. Fangs and Sweet Pea take the lead, pinning him down by his shoulders and legs. They both look over at Jughead with grins on their deviant faces.

"What do you want us to do with him?" Sweet Pea asks.

"I've got this one," Jughead says, looking to me and then back to his boys. He shakes his head and then leans over them both to where Nick lays. He reaches down and punches him across the face once and then again and again and again. He punches him so many times that I think Juggie's hand might fly off. Then I see Sweet Pea throw him down to the ground. He digs his knuckles into Nick's shoulder while I watch them shove a wad of cloth into his mouth. His eyes shoot up at all of them, filled with fear.

"Wait!" I say with my hands up. Juggie turns to me, blood all over his shirt and hand and even a little on his face.

"Wait," I say again, standing up and brushing off my clothes. I walk over to Nick and put my foot right above his crotch.

"You aren't going to be harassing any girls for quite a while, Nick St. Sicko," I say and stomp down as hard as I can.

Sweet Pea turns his head to the side and makes a face mixed with pain and a smile all at the same time.

"Alright, boys," Juggie says, looking to the piece of filth on the ground. "Let him go. We'll let the cops deal with the rest…if they find him before he passes out from blood loss."

They both drop him and step back, waiting for him to get up. He is bloody and beaten and grabs in between his legs right away.

"Bets," Juggie says, walking over to me. "Are you okay?"

I nod, throwing my head to his shoulder and taking a long breath.

"No rest for the wicked in a wicked town, right?" I joke. He gives me a sad smile before squeezing my side gently with a bloody hand.

"Let's get the hell out of here," he says.

 **Not my best work but a bit of a fun one. I wanted to do something a little different, maybe a little gritty. Don't forget to follow Sweet Pea's Story, Falice in the Midnight Club and the Midnight Children! PLEASE! I have a new AU coming up! A NEW AU PEOPLE!**


	98. Fear Fog I

**It's junior year. Another week of an unstoppable cult activity but no seizures, fights or strange occurrences. This week was almost normal until Wednesday morning when it all went to hell.**

 **"** **Izzy" asked about the Midnight Children and where to find it. Just click on my name on this page, (Blodreinabeauty) and all of my stories will be there. It is called "The Midnight Children" and is a Riverdale fanfic about the core four doing Penelope's night of terror over the course of a week.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part One.**

Fear. The most basic human emotion. Though I have learned a lot more about fear these last two years, nothing about it proves more horrible than when presented as the only emotion felt in a person. When the fear is so bad it blinds everything around you, the pain is indescribable and the consequences can be fatal.

It was a normal week at Riverdale high. Though the people in white continued to grow, it seemed that for just a couple of days there were no overdoses, not much growth with G and G and no seizures. It was as if Riverdale had gone back to its state of what we liked to call normal. Though we weren't back to being the town with pep, at least we were back to hoping we lived instead of hanging ourselves from the barn rafters or ingesting cyanid in the form of a blue liquid. At least now, we are moderately happy in the peaceful state of ignoring everything around us.

That is until the first scream broke out in second period on Wednesday morning. I'm sitting in science when I hear it. It's just across the hall and it's loud and high pitched. The scream is so horrifying in fact that even if I didn't know whom it was coming from, I would be sorry for that person. But I do know the person letting out that terrifying wale. I know them what one might say to be…intimately.

I stand up and run toward the door, throwing my stuff to the side and leaving my backpack in the classroom. I believe that all eyes are on me as I exit with the haste of a fireman when the alarm goes off. I rush into the classroom where I find my girlfriend, Betty Cooper, the nice girl turned bad, probably by my influence as the Serpent Queen and the girl who almost solely incarcerated two men and gave the third up to die.

My strong, intense, beautiful girlfriend is on the floor with her leather covered arms wrapped around her torso, screaming her head off. Her ponytail is still in place and the rest of her body looks unharmed. In fact, the rest of the classroom is staring at her with confusion, all eyes wondering but no one assisting. I rush over to her, sitting by her side and put my hand to her shoulder.

"Betty, what's going on?" I ask. I turn to the unhelpful crowd behind me with a disapproving look. "What happened to her? Why are you all just standing there? Who did this to her? Did one of you hurt her? Someone say something!"

"No! No! Jones, I swear no one did anything," Sweet Pea assures me, standing in front of the crowd. At least he had the guts to speak. Most of the stupid high schoolers stand back with their mouths open, gaping and looking with no one in sight to help my poor girlfriend. "She just started telling everyone to get away from her and said that we were going to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" I ask.

Sweet Pea nods with that same confused look on his face mirrored on mine. I squeeze Betty's shoulder and nod toward my friend. He kneels on the other side of her and puts his arm around her.

"Let's get her out of here," I demand.

"No! Let go of me! Let go! Get off!" someone shouts in the back of the classroom. A man, probably no more than sixteen, throws his back up against the wall in the very end of the classroom. He continues to scream for someone to get off of him, though we can all see that no one is there. He throws his arms around as if warding off an attacker.

"What's happening, Jones?" Sweet Pea asks.

"I don't know," I say, looking between that boy and then back to Betty, who is now staring down at the ground with a terrified blank expression. Her entire body is trembling. Her hands are shaking so badly that she can't even grasp them into fists as she usually does.

"We need to get her out of here," I say, helping Sweet Pea as we both lift her up and start bringing her out of the classroom. I set her down in the hallway, never taking my hands off of her waist.

"Bets," I say. "What's going on?"

Betty doesn't respond. My brave girlfriend stares into the abyss of nothingness for several long seconds as I try to wake her from her staring contest with the tile.

I hear several more screams and shouts for someone to help, get someone, call 9-1-1. The classrooms start opening and people come out, screaming for help or running from the friends. It happens all at once. There are twenty people in the hallway, all running or calling out or searching. But each and every one of them are in an immense amount of pain.

"Bets, talk to me," I beg of her. Sweet Pea sits down next to Betty with his legs pulled up to his chest. I keep my hand on Betty, protecting her with my body from the people that are stumbling around us.

"What's going on?" I ask.

Finally, Betty's head perks up and her she looks over at me. She gives me a strange confused expression, as if she is looking at my face for some kind of answer that I do not have. Betty stares at me, reaching her hand out to touch me. I grab her hand and squeeze it against my face, holding her there for a while, hoping that she will say something. But fear is a very powerful emotion. Fear is the most basic human emotion that we have and when it comes, we cannot feel anything else. It overpowers everything that we are and everything that we have.

When we know fear, that is all we know.

"Betty," I say. "Talk to me."

"I don't know what happened," she says, shaking her head. "I saw you being held by your father and then there were people…they were trying to hurt you. They were gonna kill you. They were all attacking. All of these people that I knew and they were gonna kill you."

"No," I say, shaking my head as tears fall down her face. Now that most basic human emotion starts building up inside my gut. I was able to push it away until now. But now it is everything that I feel. It is pushing on me. I grab her hand and squeeze, pulling my body against her side and resting my head to hers.

"No. I'm fine," I say as the tears keep pouring down her face. "I'm fine. I'm right here with you. We're gonna be okay. I don't know what's going on but it wasn't real."

"It felt so real," she says, shaking her head. "Juggie, it felt like I was in it. I don't know what happened but…" Betty looks up at the people around us, calling out and screaming or sitting on the ground and crying. "Whatever this is…it's happening to all of us."

"Something we ate?" I ask.

She shakes her head, seeming to get her Nancy Drew back almost immediately. It's as if the fear in her mind is gone and now she is working with a clean slate. She is back to everything that she was before, as if it never happened. Betty scoots herself up, letting her legs go down to the ground and looking at the people around us, assessing them as she always does, hunting for clues.

"No," she says. "It has to be something that was passed out at the same time. We all had these visions around the same time. It has to be something we all have."

"Water?" I ask.

"That would make sense but why would it effect everyone right now?" she asks. "And why not you? Why not Sweet Pea?"

"Actually," Sweet Pea says beside her. "I think I have it too."

When I look over, my best friend is shaking so badly he is convulsing. His entire body is trembling. His hands are clenched into fists, holding onto each other. There are unshed tears in his eyes and a quivering at his bottom lip that he doesn't seem to be able to control. I have never seen Sweet Pea actually cry. He is too strong, too big, too much of a man to feel fear like the rest of us. Sure, he has a kind and loyal side but cry? No. He would never give into the take over of fear that the others have.

"This is uncontrollable," I mutter.

Betty nods.

"It has to be something that everyone is—" I start but then Betty puts her hand up, staring out at the crowd.

"I know," she says. "It's in the air."

 **What do you think? A little fear serum for the town of Riverdale?**

 **Click on my name at the top of this page to find my other stories!**


	99. Fear Fog II

**What will Betty and Jughead do about it? What will they see when the fear hits them again?**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part II.**

When I look at Betty Cooper all I feel is undeniable love and happiness. Even when we were kids, Betty, Archie and I were best friends. But as time went on and Archie was still my best friend, it was Betty who I went to when I wanted attention from a scraped knee. It was Betty who I went to when the pain of my fathers drinking became too much for me to handle. It was Betty that I went to when the fear was the only thing that I could feel.

The fear hasn't hit me like it has hit the others yet, though I know it will soon. I try not to think about it as I help Betty stand up and keep my hands in hers, staring at her beauty. I try to get lost in it so that I can forget what's going on around me. But then the screams come again and I can't think about anything but the pain all of these people are feeling.

"Riverdale High is now on lockdown. Riverdale High is now on lockdown. Stay where you are. We will have the CDC coming to defuse the situation as quickly as possible," the announcement says. "Stay where you are. Do not engage with other students or teachers."

"They don't know what this is either," Betty says.

"No clue," I agree.

"Oh god," I hear Sweet Pea say on the ground. I had almost forgotten that he was there. He puts his hands on either side of his face now, staring down at his knees and whispering things I can hardly understand. "Leave me alone, Dad. Please leave me alone. I didn't do that. Just let me go. Dad, please. Why is this happening?"

"Sweet Pea?" I ask.

Betty's face turns to complete sympathy. Her eyes go round and her shoulders slouch. We both walk over to him, kneeling on either side of our friend.

"You're at school," I remind him, though I know trying to get through that kind of fear is almost useless. Trying to get through the real kind of fear is an impossible task. This is the kind of feeling that overshadows everything else. But I cannot stand by and watch my best friend suffer a fate he does not deserve so I go on, attempting at a conclusion I know I will not get. "You're okay. You're safe here. It's just me, Jughead. It's Jones, Sweet Pea. You are fine. There is no one else here but the high schoolers and the teachers."

"I'm so scared," he whispers.

"I know," I say. "That's just whatever is in the air. We just have to endure it until the CDC gets here and fixes this. We just have to keep in control until then. You can do that with me because you're okay."

"Where's my dad?" he asks.

"He's not here," I say. "You live in a trailer alone. You're okay. No one here is going to hurt you."

"Sweet Pea," Betty says on his other side. She puts her arm around his shoulders, which I don't love but I try to push back any fear of jealousy. There are much worse things to be afraid of today. "It's Betty. You're okay. You're with the Serpents. What you're seeing about your father is not real. But we are real and we can help you."

"Help me?" he asks, looking up.

The fear on his face is gone. There is a look of blank confusion. The same one that Betty had just moments ago. Whatever this is, it only comes in spurts and leaves the same way. He looks at Betty's arm and shrugs her off, then back to me for a reaction.

"It's okay," I say, putting my hand on his shoulder with a small squeeze. "You were just effected by the serum but you're okay now."

He nods.

"I thought my dad was—"

"He's not," Betty says, cutting him off. "Whatever you saw doesn't matter. It wasn't real."

Sweet Pea sniffles and then puts his hand up to his face. When he realizes that he was crying, he throws his hands across his face frantically as if his entire body is on fire. He stands up quickly, shoving Betty off in the process and pushing us both away.

"What the hell was that?" he asks.

"We don't know," I say. "No need to freak out. We were just talking to you to make sure you were okay and that you'd come out of it."

Sweet Pea wipes off his face with the back of his hand for a final time with such rage roaring through him that I actually feel bad. If I came out of something and was crying with people around me, I'd be confused and probably angry. Plus, Sweet Pea's default emotion is anger so I'm not sure he knows any others.

"I'm fine," Sweet Pea says. "And I don't cry."

"It's okay," Betty says. "I did too, during my hallucination. We don't have control over what we were seeing. I'm sure whatever you saw with your dad made you feel that."

"Bastard!" Sweet Pea shouts, unable to control his anger a second longer and slams his fist up against the locker next to him. He shoves me out of the way as he pushes past me and walks down the hall, hitting two more things in his wake as he pushes every person past his path.

"I wonder what he saw," Betty says.

"Why?" I ask her. She presses her lips together and wraps her arm around my waist.

"I can't imagine what would make a man like that cry," she says. "It had to be awful."

"Well your hallucination was fake, right?" I ask her. "I mean, it didn't really happen."

"Yes it did," she says, looking at me sideways. "It did really happen. You were beat the hell up by those Ghoulies. I just never saw it. But in my dream it was like I did see it and then my brain just connected it to the only part that I actually saw."

"That barely made sense," I admit.

"Whatever Sweet Pea saw was real," she says. "Even if it was his brain's exaggeration. It was real."

"Everyone has so much pain in their hearts," I say. "We're all reliving it through this terrible air produced toxicity. I don't even want to know what is going to happen when I hallucinate."

Betty nods and turns to me, keeping both of her arms around my body, under my Serpent jacket, keeping me warm. I stare down to her blue eyes and try to get lost in them. I take a long breath, putting my hand to her hair carefully.

"We have to stay together," Betty says. "If we just stay together, we will be fine. We can do this. You and I do no separate for any reason so that if one of us hallucinates, at least we won't be running around the school like a chicken with our heads cut off."

"Deal," I agree.

"Do you think Sweet Pea will be okay?"

I nod. "He has to be."

"We should go find Veronica and Archie," she suggests.

There it is. That core value of fear bubbling up inside all of us. Fear for ourselves is one thing but fear for others is where the real pain lies. Fear for others is what gets people killed. We have been through everything together: the four musketeers, the core four, all of us together all the time. And now we are going to experience each other's worst fears.

"Just another day in the town with pep," I mutter.

 **FIVE Reviews please! FIVE please!**


	100. Fear Fog III

**Fear Serum continues to haunt the people of Riverdale High. What will happen when Jughead and Betty search for Veronica and Archie? What will their fears be? How will the core four work this out together?**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part III.**

Hate. One of the many things that drives fear. Hate for a person. Hate for a law. Hate for an object. Hate for a feeling. Hate drives fear and fear drives uncontrollable actions; actions of hate and fear are the most dangerous of all. When you act on hate and fear, you become a part of those emotions. You become their prisoner and soon, you will find that you are falling to them the same way that Satan fell to hell after he was banished by God. It's a horrifying but incredible real descent.

Finally, when you are down to the lowest point you can possibly get, you realize that the control you had over your emotions was a bunch of BS. What you really have is fear and hate and those things will always come out to equal chaos and destruction. That is what I was seeing when I walked through the halls of Riverdale High with Betty. Though I was using my body as a human shield for Betty against any of those that may have run toward her, it was failing. There are so many people with so much hate and fear that I cannot hide Betty from it forever.

Moreover, what I am truly afraid of is what is going to come out of it when I am the one curled up in the fetal position and crying my eyes out. I try hard not to think about what Betty will say or do with me but it's horrifying to think that she will see me that way. Fear of other people getting hurt, that is what gets us more hurt. Playing the hero can destroy a person. Playing the hero with spite in your heart can destroy the very person you were.

As we turn the corner of the hall, I find myself worried that we are going to encounter someone or something that will be in a fit of rage. We have seen first hand that when some people get scared, they get angry. I bet Sweet Pea is not the only one in this school running around punching walls. I am afraid for the moment when one of those people doesn't punch a wall, he/she punches a person. That is what I am dreading the most. I try to avoid that thought when I see Cheryl leaning against the wall with her arms around her chest, staring down at the ground.

"Cheryl?" I ask, walking over to her. I don't touch her because I know she doesn't do well with other people's germs but I stand in front of her, hoping that she will give me an answer instead.

"Whatever you're seeing, it's okay. You're safe. It's just a hallucination," I tell her.

"He's right, Cheryl. Everything's fine," Betty assures.

"Fine?" Cheryl says, looking up at the both of us. Tears fall down her face as she starts talking and stumbling through her words. She fumbles over them, trying to get them out as fast as she can. "Fine? So I'm fine because I don't think so! I was just underwater because I broke the ice on Sweetwater River and tried to kill myself! Then I saw Jason! I saw my dead brother with a bullet through his head! AM I FINE NOW?" she shouts, screaming so loud I am shocked. I jump back away from her. Betty turns to Cheryl with empathy and puts her hand on her shoulder.

"Get away from me, hobo wife!" she screams, jumping back. At least she has her sense of humor with her, which would piss me off in any other situation. But right now it makes me feel a little better knowing that she is partially still herself.

"Cheryl, I promise that was just a hallucination," she says, trying to convince her. Betty will let anyone walk all over her just to help someone. She will do anything to make other people feel better. But I need to take her away from this before Cheryl goes crazy.

"Oh! And by the way, welfare baby, I know about your make out sesh with my boo," she says in a spiteful tone. "Yeah! I saw that one too! How dare you! She didn't even want to have sex with you!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" I shout. "Toni and I did not have sex!"

"I saw you!" she says, throwing her body across Betty and trying to shove herself at me. Betty holds her back, pushing her arms against the wall. She looks shocked when Betty holds her away from me. Cheryl tries to reach over and claw her long nails at me.

"Toni kissed me first!" I shout over her snarling scream. "I kissed her back. We made out for a while but that's it, Cheryl. You can ask Toni. I swear to God we did not have sex. Not even close, Cheryl."

Cheryl stops fighting and her expression goes blank. Betty looks at her with confusion and then back at me. I nod and she lets her go. Cheryl's knees go weak and she slides down the wall, sitting on the floor and staring down at the ground.

"Cheryl?" I ask.

She doesn't move a muscle. She stares exactly where she is, staring down at the ground. Hate. Hate for her girlfriend being with men or maybe just with me, someone who kicked her out of the only family she has left, is what drove her to fear and that fear is what drove her to attack me. Now that is all over and she is seeing nothing but the white wall of ash that is left when the fire finally stops burning. Her demons are silent.

"Cheryl, it's okay. It was just part of the hallucination. You're okay. It was all fake. That never happened," Betty says, standing a safe distance away but still close enough that Cheryl can hear her.

The red head gives a small nod but doesn't bother looking up at either of us. Betty goes back to standing by my side and I wrap my arm around her, holding her close to me as we stare down at our afraid friend.

"If we find Toni, we'll tell her where you are," I promise her. "But it's okay. You're safe. Just try to remember that it's a hallucination."

Cheryl perks her head up and then scrambles to her feet when she realizes that we are leaving. She pushes herself up and fixes her tight red dress and then wipes her hand underneath of her eyes, trying to fix her make up. I almost want to reach out and tell her to calm down, that nothing is going to hurt her now but I decide not to. All of this fear is starting to get to me. Why does everything hurt people so much?

"I want to come with you," she says. "I don't want to be alone."

"Fair enough," Betty says.

"That's probably a good idea," I agree. We start walking together back through the halls and up the main stairway, checking every classroom in between us as we search for anyone that we might know or that might need our help.

Just as we ascend the top stair, there is a curling howl of pain rippling through the air. It's terrifying and loud and comes from the very core of a person. But not just any person. It comes from someone close to our hearts. This rippling howl is not from hate influencing his fear. It's from loneliness. A lonely, fearful gasp.

"Archie," Betty says, looking to me for a brief moment before we both take off into a full sprint, running to save our friend.

 **Let's get those reviews up! Seriously…what do you guys think? What has been your favorite AU so far? Thanks guys! You are awesome! I love writing these for you.**

 **(Also, WAHOO for the 100** **th** **chapter)**


	101. Fear Fog IV

**Archie's up next. What will the core four do? Please follow Falice in the Midnight Club and The Midnight Children! I am updating those regularly and would love some more reviews!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part IV.**

Loneliness is yet another factor of fear. Loneliness is what drives a lot of people's fears because it is a coldness in the core of your person. It is an intense feeling of dread and emptiness in every part of your body. It is a terrifying emotion all by itself. Add some anger and a little simulated fear and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. Loneliness does not generally warrant violence. Except for the in case of my best friend, Archie Andrews who has been attacked by a bear, accused of murder, escaped Juvenile Detention and hunted by a mafia leader.

When I find Archie, he is in the boys locker room. He is also the only one in there. Reggie passes me with a weird look as he runs out of the bathroom, away from the situation as he always does. I find my lonely best friend standing with his head against the lockers and his hands on either side of his face. He is rocking back and forth, crying with loud, heaving sobs that send a terrible shake through my body. I feel his fear down to my core when I approach him and realize that his entire body is shaking with the sobs that plague him.

Archie's tee shirt is soaked through with sweat and his hands are trembling in his hair as he grasps it so tightly I fear him pulling it out. He bites his lip hard and makes a high pitched sound of resistance to crying. But then it breaks and cracks and the sobs come back. The hiccups of that fear continues, throwing his body into another set of convulsions. I am left frozen, too afraid to move, too shaky to dare to touch him.

Betty is braver than I could ever be. My beautiful girlfriend puts on her courageous face and runs over to Archie, throwing both of her arms around his body. She rests her face on his back, pressing her entire body to his, holding onto him tightly. She lays her body against his as his sobs continue until finally, his hand reaches down to waist where hers are and he grabs her fingers. She sighs but a few tears escape her eyes. I finally am able to move again. I walk over, throwing my arms around the both of them as the door opens again. This time, Veronica walks through with a disheveled look. Though her blue dress is perfectly in place and her raven hair is starkly gorgeous, her face is filled with anguish, as if she has seen a ghost.

"Archie?" she asks.

I look over at her and nod. Veronica rushes over, trying to stay something but nothing comes out. She wraps her arms around Archie on the other side and we all hold him like the day we did when his father was shot at Pops. But this time, Archie is sobbing. We keep ahold of him for several minutes, not letting go when he screams, not letting go when he calls out for help, not letting go when the crying continues or even when it finally stops several minutes later.

"You're not alone," I repeat over and over again.

"We're here. It's okay," Betty says to him.

"I was looking everywhere for him. I heard him scream and I thought he was hurt. I don't know what's happening," Veronica says on the other side, rambling through her words like Cheryl was after her hallucination.

"V," Betty says, turning her head to the side.

I reach over and grab Veronica's hand. It's odd but actually feels nice to be able to help someone in this moment. She gives me a sigh and then rests her head to his, nuzzling into his neck when he doesn't look over at her.

When Archie starts to breathe at a normal rate, Betty stands off of him, backing away but keeping her hands on his back. Archie stands up straight and looks at the locker as if it is the most interesting thing in the world. He stares blankly for a while as we wait for him to return to normal. Veronica puts her arms around his waist, trying to get him to look at her but he doesn't budge at all. For a brief moment I almost forgot that they broke up. She seems so concerned about him. I guess even after Betty and I broke up, I still needed her. I was still concerned for her. If this happened then, I might be even more broken.

Lonely.

Archie doesn't have his mom. His dad is always working and doesn't understand what he's been through. He was physically alone for weeks. His best friends are more involved in the Serpents and cult investigations than him. And he broke up with the one woman that he has ever really loved. Archie is alone, the loneliest man that I know actually. It must be truly terrifying.

"Archie," I say, getting the courage to be the first one to speak. "Archie, you're okay."

Archie slowly turns around with a trembling lip, staring at us, searching us for an answer. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze, making him look at me. Archie turns to me, grabbing both of my shoulders with panic all over his red wet face.

"It's okay, man," I promise him. "There's something going around, some sort of chemical or virus that makes us hallucinate and feel fear. But it's over now. It's not real."

"Are you here?" he asks.

I nod.

"Of course. I'm here," I promise. Archie wraps his arms around me quickly and hugs me as tight as he can. I haven't hugged anyone like this in a long time. I don't think I have ever hugged another man like this. He is so afraid that I don't pull away, though it worries me to think about how much pain he is still in.

"Arch," Betty says. "It's okay now."

Betty keeps her hand on his back. When he hears her voice, it's as if he just noticed she was in the room. He turns to her with a shocked expression and gives her a small smile before wrapping his arms around her too. They hug for a while, holding each other tightly and closely. It should bother me but it doesn't. It actually makes me feel good to see them so close again.

"What did you see?" Betty asks.

"I was alone in the woods and you guys were…I killed you," he says. "But I didn't do that. That never happened. I wouldn't hurt you guys. None of you."

He looks right at Veronica when he says the last part. Veronica gives him a small smile, squeezing his arm.

"It's not real," Veronica agrees. "You didn't hurt any of us."

"We're all right here," Betty agrees.

"I thought I was alone. I've never felt anything like that before," he explains in a shaking voice. "That was so horrible. It was like a gut wrenching fear all over my body. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I felt like everything that I ever had was gone and I was standing over all of it completely alone. It was horrible. Guys, if you weren't here, I don't know what I would have done."

"Archie," Betty says in horror. "It's okay. Everything's fine. It's over now. You're not alone."

"But I have been," he says strongly. Whatever fear was there in his heart is gone now. He feels nothing but strength as he speaks what he has been feeling for a while now. I can see the bravery in his eyes as he gets it off of his chest. "I have been alone for a while now because I have been pushing everyone away. I don't want to do that anymore. I can't be responsible for that kind of pain and I can't deal with any of this without you."

"You won't," Betty assures.

"Yeah, we're here with you," I agree.

That loneliness that drove my red headed pals fears is gone now. With that goes the fear of being alone, the fear of having no one to be with you, the fear of looking up and realizing that no one cares what happens to you. With that fear and loneliness gone, our best friend Archie Andrews trials were over for this round. Though it became prominent that perhaps not all of ours were. With Cheryl's screams coming from right outside the hallway, it became clear. This is not a one time offender.

Betty pushes my hand from her chest and then rushes backwards away from all of us.

"Betty?" I ask.

"It's happening to her too," Archie says as Betty scrambles away from people and starts to breathe heavily, searching for an exit away from us.

"It's happening again," I correct. "You mean it's happening to Betty again."

 **Betty is up next again you guys! Are you guys liking this one? I wanted to do a similar thing but with Shadowhunters and the fear rune being inflicted on all of them at the same time. Who'd read it? LET ME KNOW PLEASE! Thanks guys!**


	102. Fear Fog V

**How will Jughead help Betty with her new hallucination? Let's find out. You guys are great. I have no idea how many chapters this will be but some people requested that I do more with Juggie in the hospital, so maybe we'll get there eventually.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part V.**

"What the hell is going on?" Archie asks.

"We don't know," I tell him with a rushed tone. "This is happening to everyone. When they hallucinate, they have no control over their feelings or what they see."

Confusion creates chaos and chaos will end as it always does in an incredible oblivion. This oblivion is occasionally a blessing in disguise. At least then, the pain of the truth will be gone and we will be back to nothingness. In this case though, confusion just makes everything worse. Confusion scares people into making conclusions they do not wish to have. Confusion makes people act out of fear to get their answers. Confusion can make a person angry with unknowing. What drives each of us now is the idea of that clarity we are so sure we will get at the end of the dark confused tunnel. We continue to search for answers because if we don't, we will give into the terrible idea of unknowing and then be impacted by its truth.

The only one of us that is unaware of her state of confusion is Betty Cooper, my insanely talented and always caring girlfriend. In this moment, she is the old Betty: the one who was incapable of understanding her darkness and the one who hated it. I was the one to teach her to love her darkness, to embrace her inner anger and explore her feelings for hate. But in this moment she is the girl next door; the kind and virtuous girl with a pony tail and a gear toward pink.

Betty's arms are wrapped around her legs as she slides back and forth on the ground, staring down at the ground in front of her. Her body is shaking with fear, so bad that I actually have to grip her shoulders tightly so she doesn't jump away from me. I try to tilt her chin up to look into my eyes but she shakes her head, trying to steer away from me. I grab her shoulders tighter.

"Betty," I say. "It's okay. You're fine. We're together. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"What is she doing?" Veronica asks.

"She's in a hallucination like Archie just was," I tell them.

"Did I look like that?" Archie asks in a broken voice. I want to reach over and hug him, squeeze his shoulder or tell him that he will be fine. But I only have enough room in my heart to comfort one of my favorite people at a time. I can't handle him too.

"Worse," Veronica says, throwing her hand over her face. "Definitely worse."

I look back to Betty and lean close, wrapping one of my arms around her shaking body. I kiss her forehead and then press my head against the side of her face, speaking in a quiet tone. She has to know that I am with her and maybe I can get her out of this.

"What are you seeing?" I ask her. "Tell me what you see."

Betty mutters something that I cannot understand. I ask her to tell me again and this time I get it all through the grit of her teeth and the small movement of her lips. I am only more confused by the words that I can catch. That confusion makes it worse for me, for how I feel, for how scared I am.

"Darkness. Pain," she mutters. "So much darkness and no light. Even the white is dark."

"Betty, it's not dark. It's just what you're seeing. You're okay. I'm here with you and there's no pain and no darkness," I assure her, though I am not sure that even makes sense to myself, let alone the person that is horribly confused and scared of that confusion.

"Oh god," Archie says behind me.

"What?" I ask him.

"Something…it's in my chest. I can feel it coming back. God, it hurts," he says, throwing his hand to his chest. Veronica helps him sit down on the bench in between the two walls of lockers. I am at the end of it with my arm around Betty as she sits on the floor.

"Betty, she has to talk to me," Archie says.

"Uh, that's gonna be kind of difficult right now, Arch," I tell him from the floor as Betty continues to shake.

"The Serpent dance. You hated me. Why did you hate me? I saw the way everyone else looked at me. But not you. You were the only one who hated me and you were supposed to love me. It was for you," Betty mutters under her breath. She is not even looking at me. She is talking to a hallucinated part of me, not the Jughead that I am now.

"Bets, you don't need to worry about that," I tell her, holding her close.

"Betty, please," Archie says beside me. "You have to talk to me. I need you. My dad. He was shot. If you don't talk to me, I'll die. I have to have you back or I'll die."

Archie doesn't want her to talk to him. He's hallucinating again too. This is getting worse. I can hear Cheryl out in the hallway, shouting for Toni or for someone to help her.

"Please, Betty. I have to," Archie mumbles beside me.

"There's so much. My father. He knows that I'm next. I could kill them. I could kill all of them!" Betty starts to shout.

"What the hell do we do, Jughead?" Veronica asks.

"I don't know," I say. "Whatever it is, you need to get Archie out of it. I'm holding Betty back but we don't know how long it is going to be before either of them get violent."

"Violent," Betty mutters, pushing me off so I fall back into the bench behind me. I throw my hand to the back of my head where the pain starts to radiate. I squeeze my hand in my hair as the pain starts to ebb out. I sit up straight, trying to forget the headache that is no doubt coming.

"Get away!" Betty screams, throwing her hands around our bodies, trying to attack in every direction.

"Please, Betty. Just talk to me! I didn't do anything! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Archie shouts.

"Daddy?" Veronica asks.

Oh god.

"Daddy, please," Veronica says. "It wasn't my fault. That was all Mom. I tried to tell her not to do that. I was not the one who—"

"Veronica!" I shout. "Stop it! Veronica! Come out of it! Please!"

She doesn't. She keeps talking. Her hands leave Archie's side. He calls out as if in pain when her touch leaves him. She throws her body against the lockers with her hands flat on the cool metal. Her head tilts to the side as if she is trying to get away from something but she thinks she is trapped. It is clear that she is trying desperately to get away from someone that is not there. Now I am the only one that is confused. I am the one that doesn't know what is going on or what to do.

Betty is still throwing her arms around, trying to push anyone and everyone that might come toward her, away. Archie is still talking to the Betty that isn't listening. Veronica is now corned by no one but thinks she is going to be hurt, likely by her father.

"Jughead!" Cheryl shouts, running into the locker room with her hands up in a terrified stance.

"What?" I ask, dropping my arms in an exasperated look. I cannot handle one more thing happening right now.

"Why'd you kick me out of the Serpents?" she screams.

"What? You know why! You stole from the Lodge's!" I shout back and then realize that was dumb. She sees me but she is hearing other things. This is starting to influence people's actions, not just their thoughts.

All at once Cheryl runs toward me and slaps me across the face. She tries to hit me but I grab her wrists and hold them as she fights me off. She kicks my foot and then my shin. It hurts but she's not very strong so I am able to hold her away from me through her struggles.

"Get off of me!" I tell her. "I did what I had to do!"

"I'm not like you!" Betty screams.

"Please, Betty," Archie begs.

"Daddy, no!" Veronica says.

"You did this to me!" Cheryl shouts.

Confusion and chaos drive the fear of the room until there is nothing but horrible shouts and terrifying screams.

 **Who would you like to see more of in this fanfic? Thanks!**


	103. Fear Fog VI

**Every person has their own fears. Jughead has to deal with the aftermath of all four of his friends losing their minds. But what will happen when Jughead starts to lose it too?**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part VI.**

The people around me are starting to get to my mental state. I love Archie for his loyal, best friend properties. I love Betty for just about every part of her. I even love Veronica for her care for Betty. And I respect Cheryl for what she's been through. But damn, the screaming and the moaning and everything in between is starting to drive me crazy.

My head throbs with the loud noises that are surrounding me. Betty is still laying down on the ground with her body pulled close to her, talking to herself. Archie is still begging the fake Betty in his mind and Veronica is pushing her father away while Cheryl is trying to grab at me.

"Leave me alone!" I shout, pushing her away. "Just let me go! All of you! Shut up! Let it go! Just shut up!"

I push everyone away from me as hard as I can, pushing myself toward the wall and laying against it. I try to keep as far away from the others as possible. They are all yelling at once, talking over each other in their own personal hell. But I can feel my own personal hell coming on. I am trying my best to push it back away but I can't. It hurts in the center of my core. It starts to throb all over my body, in my head and my stomach and everywhere in between. I can feel it throbbing all over my body. I push the people away, begging them to leave me alone, desperately needing to feel better.

Then I'm back in my trailer. My trailer that was burned down. My trailer that my mother destroyed. But I'm here.

My trailer looks just as it always had. Betty walks from the back room wearing one of my S tee shirts with a smile on her face. Her hair is pulled to the side as she walks from the back room. She slides her hands up my arms until we are face to face, smiling at each other. There is a strange sense of peace at first but it is not true. It feels strange. There is something wrong about the peace that they are feeling.

It's false, almost obviously false.

"Bets, what's going on?" I ask her, confused. I turn around and find my father walking through the door with a bottle in one hand and a flask in the other. He stumbles through and laughs, throwing his body at the kitchen cabinets. He falls into them and then holds himself up with his counter.

"Dad? Why are you drinking again?"

"Again?" he asks with a short laugh. "Do you think I ever stopped?"

"Dad, get out of here," I beg of him.

Betty puts her arms around my waist, keeping me grounded. But it worries me. Why is she here with me when my father is too? We shouldn't be walking around like this. I'm in boxers and have no shirt on and Betty is only in my tee shirt. This is weird.

"Dad? What's going on?" I ask him.

"What do you think you're doing? You think you just get to hang out with your girlfriend after you kicked your mother and sister out?" he asks.

"I never did that!"

"It's your fault!" he screams, running over to me. He grabs my face with one of his hands and pulls me up so my feet are just barely touching the ground. His face is filled with anger. His eyes are in a horrible rage, shaking his entire body.

"You made mom leave the first time and now again! JB is gone because of you, Jughead!"

"He's right, Jug," Betty says. "You're lucky I'm not leaving you too."

"NO!" I shout, pushing them away and trying to back away from the both of them. "It's not my fault!"

"I don't even know why you're with him anymore," Dad says to Betty, as if completely sober all of the sudden. It doesn't make sense but it still hurts to hear.

"Your mother left you. Your sister left you. You push your girlfriend around all the time and she is still with you? I don't get it. She should have left you a long time ago. She would have benefited from being alone. Maybe then she wouldn't have been dragged into your darkness," Dad says.

"Leave her out of this!" I beg.

"He's right, Jug. I always follow you around and never get anything in return. Maybe I should be pushing you away," Betty says. I grab both of her hands and pull her toward me. I grip her hands as tightly as I can, holding onto her and looking into her indifferent blue eyes. Her expression scares me more than anything else. She looks like she doesn't care. From what we had on, I am pretty sure we just had sex and she doesn't care about me all of the sudden?

"Bets, don't go," I beg. "I don't mean to bring you down with me. We work so well together. What would be the point? Don't leave me."

"Why?" she asks. "Everyone else has. Archie left you. You don't have any friends. Your mom hates you and your sister thinks that you kept her dad away from her."

"Which you did," Dad agrees.

"No! That's not true! This can't be happening!" I scream, backing away from them and putting my hands on either side of my face.

"Pathetic," Betty says.

Dad catches up to me, slapping me across the face with the back of his hand.

"Wimp."

"You'll always be alone," Betty promises.

"Jug! Jughead! Hey Jug!" I hear a third voice come in. I look up and see my surroundings have again been changed. I am sitting in the boys locker room at school with Archie right in front of me. There are hands on my shoulders. I am pressed against the wall with people surrounding me. The room is cold but I am no where near alone. I feel my entire body shaking with terror and the fear that what I saw was real.

"Juggie," I hear, turning to the side. I see Betty siting with her arm around my shoulders. "It's gonna be okay. Whatever you saw wasn't real."

All over again, the pain is gone and the fear of being alone with it.

I focus my eyes on Archie. His face is bright red and his hands are shaking on my knees. His body looks warn and there is sweat through his white tee shirt. I scan over Veronica's face. She is not far from me, standing over Archie but looking at me with concern. Cheryl is on my other side. I can feel her hand on my shoulder, which is odd. When I look at her, she looks sad and sympathetic. Sometimes I forget that Cheryl is my friend. Then again, I think she forgets that sometimes too.

Betty. Betty has tears on her face and she is so scared. She is shaking and looking at me with her hands gripping my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Betty asks.

"Yeah, fine," I say, shaking my head. "What happened?"

"You were hallucinating," Betty says. "You kept telling me not to leave you but I never did."

"I remember all of you freaking out and then all of the sudden I was in my trailer," I explain.

"We were all in a hallucination at once," Veronica says.

"It was horrible," Archie agrees. He exchanges a quick look with Betty before going back to me and backing up, holding out his hand. I take it and let him help me stand.

"We look a mess," Cheryl says.

I almost laugh in agreement.

"What did you see?" Cheryl asks.

"That might be kind of personal, Cheryl," Betty says. I squeeze her hand. I understand why she is trying to defend me but it really is okay.

"Loneliness. My parents and Betty and Archie leaving me and it was my fault," I say.

"It twists around events in our lives and plays with our deep seeded fears," Betty says.

"How do we get out of it?" Archie asks.

An alarm goes off. It's a loud bell sounding over our heads just as the lights go down to emergency lights only. We all stand where we are, completely still as an announcement comes over the intercom.

"Riverdale High is now under quarantine. No one in or out. Riverdale High is now under quarantine. No one in or out."

 **What's next?**


	104. Fear Fog VII

**What happened after the school shut down? What will happen to the students and teachers that are still inside? Where is this coming from?**

 **Let's find out. It is a lot to ask but in the next two chapters, I would love to see my reviews reach 500! I am loving your guessing and suggestions.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part VII.**

"Juggie?" Bets says beside me. I realize that I have been staring at the ground in silence while the others come up with the ideas to get the hell out of here.

"What do you think, Jughead?" Veronica asks, crossing her arms over her chest. I look up and realize every one of my friends is looking to me. They want me to come up with an answer, like always. But right now, I have no answer. All I have is a bunch of weird feelings of distrust and unrest. I'm unmoored about all of this.

"I think I don't know," I say. "I think we should just sit here for a while and wait for them to tell us what to do. Everyone is going crazy. We shouldn't be going out there in the middle of armageddon anyway."

Betty looks worried. Veronica and Archie look to each other and then back at me, hoping I will give them a new answer. I can hear Cheryl sigh behind me, stomping off of on her heels. I have no idea where she goes but I don't really care. I can't worry about her too right now. I have to think about what I just saw. I can't get it out of my head.

"Are you okay, Juggie?" Betty asks. I shake my head. She gives the others a look. Without a word, both of my other friends walk away slowly to the other side of the locker room. Betty leans her head on my shoulder and nudges into my neck. I sigh against her, letting my body relax when her hand reaches over to mine. We interlock out fingers a few times. I can tell she is trying to calm me down but waiting for me to talk. To be honest, I want to talk. I just don't want the others to hear me.

"I'm not okay," I get out.

"Is it about what you saw?" she asks.

I pick my head up and nod, looking into those perfect blue eyes. I rest my hand on the side of her face, feeling her warmth. It makes me feel safer, almost like I'm home again.

"You can't give up on me," I tell her.

"Why would I? I never have before. I won't do that," she promises, answering frantically. I know that. I know I have heard all of that before but then I saw it and it just hurt so badly to think that after everything, I could lose all of it all over again.

"I started out high school with nothing and then I gained everything back. My dad. My friends. My sister. The Serpents. A girlfriend I love. But then things started to fall apart," I tell her, squeezing her hand with my free one. We are wrapped in each other on the floor, entangled in touching so that we can both feel comforted in warmth. "My mom left. My sister almost died. The Serpents were almost extinct. I lost so much and it just felt like it was leaving me slowly. I can't….I can't lose you."

"You won't," she promises, tears in her eyes. I never wanted that but I understand why they are there. I can feel that pushing behind my eyes as well. I can feel that uncomfortable need to be close, to feel safety that I can see she craves as well.

"You will not lose me. Juggie, I am yours," she promises. "We are together. We are going to figure out this mystery just like every other mystery we have before. I'm not going anywhere."

"Mystery," I repeat, coming to a quick realization. "If this is a mystery, then someone is doing this. Someone is behind this."

Betty smiles and just as quick as I was off it, I am back on the case again. I toss ideas around in my head before spitting out everything I can think of that makes sense.

"Fear fog is clearly in the air. They isolated us, probably so that it can't spread anywhere outside of this building."

"Unless they didn't isolate us at all," Betty says.

"What are you thinking?" I ask, dropping my hand from her face as we go back to our Sherlock Holmes expressions and thoughts.

"I think they trapped us. Whoever created this fear fog wants us to suffer. They want us to be away from whatever is happening outside of this building."

"Whoever is doing this, created the fog and the isolation," I conclude. Betty nods with a grin.

"We just have to find out who wants us focused inward and not outward. Then we know who created the fog and who trapped us in here."

"If we find out why they'd want to, maybe we'll find out who did it," Betty suggests.

I grab Betty's hand and pull her to stand up with me. I drag her over to find Archie and Veronica talking to each other in a low voice. Once we reach them, they look a little surprised.

"We have to figure out who did this. We think it's someone inside and we think they have ulterior motives," Betty explains.

"Like what?" Veronica asks.

"We think they want us focused inside and not outside. We think they want us to suffer."

"Someone who is doing something on the outside?" Veronica asks with a shrug and a sad sigh. She wants to give me an answer but it is one she knows she has given far too often in her life. "Someone like my father."

"Wait. Maybe not," Archie says. "I would normally say yes but he's done that before. What about someone targeting high schoolers?"

"The gargoyle king," I finish for him.

"Or maybe the farm," Betty says.

"Someone did this because they wanted us to suffer. Why would the farm want us to suffer if they want us to joint them?" Veronica asks.

"In theory, whoever did this does not think they are going to get caught. If that's true, the farm is doing this because they want us to look in on ourselves. It is a big enough distraction that we can't leave and all of the parents are probably outside the high school, worried about us," I explain. Betty puts her hands together and gets that adorable, focused look on her face that she always does when she is coming to her conclusion. She presses her lips together and then her eyes go a little wide when she looks at me.

"Everyone is here," Betty says. "No one is looking at the farm, leaving them to do or move into whatever they want."

"What's our next step, Sherlock?" I ask her with a returning grin and a good feeling back in my gut.

"We talk to anyone involved with the farm and see what they know or how they respond to our questions. We need to end this to see what they are up to," Betty says.

"Guys!" Archie says, grabbing onto Veronica's arm as she starts to sway back and forth on her feet. He catches her just as her eyes close and her body goes limp.

"What's going on?" Betty demands.

I grab her body in a panic, helping Archie lower her to the ground carefully. With her head in Archie's lap, we try waking her with shouting and shaking but nothing works.

"Do you think this is part of the fear fog?" Archie asks.

"It has to be. She just looks like she's asleep," I say.

We all sit around her and for several minutes, nothing happens. Finally, she starts to stir and move. Her head falls to the side as her eyes open and a loud, horrifying scream erupts from her mouth.

 **What do you think? Let's get some opinions and suggestions out there guys! Also, I want more people going to Falice and Midnight Children and Sweet Pea's Story. You guys are so awesome! I love hearing from you!**


	105. Fear Fog VIII

**Veronica wakes with a horrible scream. Now the others have to help her, question the farm members and deal with the fear fog.**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part VIII.**

I throw my hands over my ears and toss my body back against the lockers with a loud thud. I push my hands down until the terrifying noise stops and Veronica is panting and crying in Archie's arms. Betty sits with her hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to get anything out of her. But all Veronica continues to repeat is that she is scared and doesn't want to talk about it. It all comes out through sobs and confusion so I barely understand it.

"Is that going to happen to all of us?" Archie asks, rightly worried.

"I hope not, man. I'm not holding you like that," I tell him. If I have to see Betty leaving me again, I might look as bad off as Veronica right now. I can't handle seeing that again. I can't handle feeling so alone in the world. I am already a weird enough kid. I at least need to have Betty. Even if everyone else leaves me, at least I need to have her.

"I'm finding out what the hell is going on," I say, pushing myself to stand. I grab Betty's hand and she stands with me, leaving her friend to sit on the floor with Archie. Veronica doesn't really need all of us sitting around staring at her while she tries to get past whatever it is that she just saw.

"Archie, let us know if anything changes," Betty says, holding up her phone before slipping it back in her pocket. He nods.

"Be careful," he says.

"We'll be back here in thirty minutes, max," I assure and give him a nod before taking Betty toward the halls of hell. I hold onto her hand tight as we make our way through the terror that is Riverdale High. The only problem with getting around these people is that many of them are in their own hallucination. I even see a few people pass out the same way Veronica did. Neither of us say anything. We keep moving until we find Kevin sitting in the corner of the library with a few of the other farm members.

"Kevin, can I talk to you?" Betty asks in her sweet voice that always comes out when she talks to other people. Before I knew her as a high schooler, I thought that was just her voice. Then I started to date her and realized, there are many, many sides to Elizabeth Cooper.

"No, Betty. Haven't you noticed what is going on around here?" Kevin asks, as if we are completely stupid. I want to roll my eyes at him but the way the other farm members look hurt and scared like the rest of the dwellers of the halls has me worried.

"Yes and that is what I need to talk to you about. Is this some kind of decoy for something you all are doing outside of these walls?" Betty asks, getting straight to the point.

"What? No! Of course not. We are all in here with you!" Kevin shouts, defending his people as always. But I am not buying it.

"Exactly! Maybe that is all part of the decoy. Put your own people in danger so you can move around your empire and do sketchy stuff without being noticed. That sounds exactly like something a cult would do," Betty says, stretching it a bit far that time. But I am still right behind her. I get it. Throwing your own people under the bus is a classic move. It makes people count you out. But we are smarter than that.

"No! I swear we have nothing to do with this! We are just as confused and scared as the rest of you. We want to get out of here too," Kevin insists. It is clear we are not going to get anything else out of him. He looks like he might be seeing some stuff. I grab Betty by the arm and pull her away, much to her own disapproval.

"Edgar might not have even told them about his plan," I suggest in a hushed whisper as we start to exit the library.

"Could be," Betty says. "If he didn't, then we are not going to find out who really did this until we are all out of here. Who know when that could be?"

"I think we need a new strategy. We should pay attention to anything we hear but I think we should just learn to survive in here. Once we get out, we can investigate who did this and put them on trial then," I suggest. I don't think either of us are going to be in any condition to go hunting through the school if whatever happened to Veronica is going to happen to us. I have already seen a few cases of it.

As we are rushing back to through the halls, dodging as many people as we can, I see Sweet Pea on the ground. His tall body is crumpled, as if he fell. There is even a bump on the side of his head. His eyes are closed and his body is still. I kneel down beside him, touching his warm forehead and feeling so much confusion. This is not the confusion that leads to a breakthrough. I have no idea what is going on and I don't think I ever will while we are trapped in this hell hole.

"Sweet Pea?" I ask. I shake him until he wakes up with a start, pushing me away so fiercely I actually fall back. Betty scoots away from us both, watching his panic stricken face as he pushes away from us.

"Sweet Pea," I say again. "It's me. It's Jones. Are you okay? Did you see something else?"

"What the hell is going on?" Sweet Pea asks through a trembling voice of pure terror. I want to reach across and get everything out of him but decide not to question him. He doesn't often break and I don't think I want to see what happens when he does.

"We're trying to figure that out," Betty says.

"Why don't you come with us?" I suggest. "We're going back to the locker rooms. It's just us in there."

He quickly shakes his head and bites his lower lip, looking down at his strong hands.

"Sweet Pea, come on. It's okay."

"It's not okay, Jones. I feel like I'm dying," he says.

"What?" I ask, confused.

He looks up at me with tears in his eyes that scare me down to my very core.

"It feels like someone is trying to rip out my heart," he explains.

"Juggie," Betty says, grabbing my arm from behind. I catch her as her eyes start to go back and I realize what is happening. It's happening to her too. After you have the first hallucination, you fall into this one and whatever this one is makes you pass out. It's so strong that it makes them horrified and scared when they wake up but trapped inside the hallucination when they're asleep. Whatever it is, it's happening to my Bets.

"Oh no. Not now," I mutter, grabbing her. I scoop her up into my arms and make Sweet Pea follow me back to the locker room. The others rush over to me, wanting answers that I do not have. I set her down on the first bench I see and hover over her small frame, keeping my hands on either side of her face. I lean down to coax her out of it when she screams herself awake.

 **OOOh. Betty's turn. What do you think this is? Who do you think did it?**


	106. Fear Fog IX

**Betty is out for the count. What will she see? How will Jughead get her out of this? How does Sweet Pea fit into all of this?**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part IX.**

I hold onto Betty as tight as I can while she writhes and attempts to push me away. I grasp my sweating hands around her waist and shoulders, holding her wracked body to my chest. I lean down to her face, attempting to coax her from her horrors. In the background I can hear a scream. A high pitched female scream. Only one person in Riverdale sounds like that. Cheryl Blossom is screaming.

I hold onto Betty tighter, realizing all too quickly that my arms are starting to shake. I don't know if it is from fear or lack of muscle but either way, I hate it. Cheryl's scream stops but I am quickly reminded that Bets and I are not the only ones here. Sweet Pea grabs onto my shoulder, looking horrible and pulls on my arm.

"What?" I ask him.

"Look," he says, looking around the hallway. I follow his gaze to see that there are many people in the same boat as him just a few minutes ago. While my Betty is still frantically attempting to push me away and groaning in pain, our other classmates are gripping their chests or clenching their eyes shut. Most of them are groaning, just like Sweet Pea was. What the hell is going on?

"We need to get back to the locker rooms, away from this," I tell the both of them. In a quick decision, I bend my legs and use everything I have to carry Betty. Sure, I've carried her before but never has she been trying to push me away. I gesture for Sweet Pea for come with me all the way back into the locker rooms. It takes time but finally we are back where we want to be and I close the door, leaving the hallowed halls and dulled screams behind us. Sweet Pea rushes into the room and sits on the first available bench with his head in his hands. I don't bother to communicate with him. I need to get Bets out of this first.

I lay Betty down on the cold ground, feeling my heart clenching in my chest. Archie and Veronica rush over to us, sliding down on their knees until we are all surrounding my fighting girl.

"Is this what happened to me?" Veronica asks.

Archie's blank stare gives a nod but it is clear his fear has frozen him. After a few seconds of utter panic, Betty stops moving, stops fighting and turns to me. Her beautiful face breaks and she jumps at me. Her thin arms wrap around my body, grasping at my waist and sides as if she is trying to crawl under my skin. I hold her close to me, shocked but slightly relieved that I can actually touch her without her pushing me away. I hold her body close and she leans into my arms, my chest, even rests her head on my neck. I can feel her shaking, wracking fear as she trembles holding onto me.

"It's okay, Bets," I remind her. "It's over."

"I felt like that too," Veronica says, breaking the strange silence between us. "I felt like I was being attacked and I had this horrible idea that Archie was gone or that he couldn't get to me."

"But it's okay, Bets. It's over," I remind her, squeezing her small body tight. Her head nuzzles into my shoulder.

"No it's not," I hear from far away. I forgot that Sweet Pea was even in here. He turns to all of us with his head up, his hands clenching his legs as if he is still in horrible pain but trying to control it. He controls his grimaced face with a bite of his lower lip.

"What?"

"After that is when I had this chest pain," he explains in a short sentence.

"I haven't felt that," Veronica assures.

"I haven't passed out yet," Archie offers with a short shrug. I squeeze Betty harder when she tries to pull away. She gives me short pats, trying to assure me that I have nothing to worry about but my heart thrumming in my chest thinks otherwise. I keep my arm around her waist when she turns to the others.

"I don't feel like that," Bets says with a sigh. She turns to me given that I probably look horribly confused. "I feel okay actually. Still like there is something looming over my head, but okay."

"Well there were a bunch of people in the halls that look like the way Sweet Pea feels," I say, realizing that doesn't make much sense but I don't care. In the moment, I am worried about everything other than words, which is the opposite of my normal.

Bets squints her eyes and gets that quizzical look on her face. She presses her lips together before walking over to Sweet Pea, sitting down beside him with that Nancy Drew like attitude.

"Who was yours about?" Betty asks. When he doesn't respond, she turns to the rest of us and I get it. I nod my head away from them. We walk behind a couple of lockers. Of course we can still hear them but it will make him feel better.

"The feeling like you are getting ripped away from someone you need, thinking they are gone," she says in a low tone. "Who was it about?"

"Josie," Sweet Pea admits.

"And she's not here," Bets finishes. There is silence.

This is about us. This is about all of us. Sure, it's a distraction but they were hoping to tear us apart. Whoever did this was hoping that we would be away from each other, be in pain because of it. We're so distracted trying to help each other, be there for each other that we can't solve this.

"This is all just a big trick," I conclude.

"My father's trick," Veronica says, always ready to blame her old man. But this time, I definitely agree. If it is not him, it's—

"The farm's trick," Betty counters, walking over to us with Sweet Pea beside her looking slightly better but still pale and worn. I almost want to ask him to sit down before he falls over.

"We have got to figure this out and stop it," I tell them.

"Ronnie," Archie says, swaying on his feet. I have not noticed him in a while. He's been pretty quiet. But now he is looking as pale as Sweet Pea was. He grabs onto Ronnie's hand as he starts to waver and then grabs onto the closest locker.

"Archie!" I shout when I realize what is happening. I help lower him to the ground as his body goes limp.

"How are we supposed to figure this out if one of us is afflicted every two minutes?" Betty says, kneeling by Archie who is now cradled in Veronica's lap, unresponsive.

"I've already been through it. I can help," Sweet Pea says.

"I can go with him," Betty says. When I am about to protest she eyes me. "I have already gone through it too, Veronica needs to stay here for Archie, and it might afflict you too."

Without saying anything at all, I just give a short nod.

"Fine," I agree.

Sweet Pea gives me an odd look before nodding toward me and then following Betty out of the locker room doors.


	107. Fear Fog X

**Please review. I want to write more of these but the reviews and comments are getting pretty scant! I really want to hear about what you guys think and what you want expanded from season 4! Also, any lovers of the Shadowhunters worlds, please read my Malec fan fiction and REVIEW! Thanks**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **Part X.**

By the time Bets gets back, I am trembling all over. Every time I try to focus on someone else's voice or even the simplest of things like the floor underneath of me or the lockers behind me, I can't do it and I am left shivering in my own skin. The terror gets so bad that I start to panic, pushing myself back as far as I can from the people around me and putting my head down between my knees. I rock back and forth as fast as I can, attempting desperately to pull those thoughts from my head.

Those thoughts.

Now I am thinking about them all over again in a horrible terror that I cannot get out of. I make a horribly embarrassing sound from the back of my throat that I try to hide but it doesn't work. I feel a hand on my shoulder squeeze me tighter. It feels like Archie. I want to shrug him off but that will just freak him out more.

I can still see the visions that plagued me in my deep, terrifying sleep. I do wonder what happened while I was out and what I looked like. All I know is that I couldn't hear anyone but Archie and occasionally Veronica but other than that, I was just trembling and trying to push everyone away. I really wanted—needed Betty but she couldn't be here. She was off trying to solve this stupid thing.

My eyes are still watching the horrors behind them. Betty standing in front of me in her pink sweater and blue jeans looking adorable and sweet as always. She smiles just a little bit before a knife appears in her back and blood pools from her mouth, staining her teeth red and dribbling from her lips, pouring down the front of her. She begins choking on the red blood, coughing and sputtering it all over her body and everything in front of her. Her hands go to her throat as she chokes, falling to her knees. When I try to get to her, I can't move. I find that I am on the ground, broken bones and bleeding worse than her. I try to crawl toward her but the pain shoots up my body. There is a horrible cackling sound that comes from behind me as Betty is dying in front of my very eyes.

"That was too easy, Jonesie," a horrid voice says. I recognize it to be only one person: Penny Peabody. There is no chance that it could be anyone else.

"Get away from me," I mumble, my mouth tasting of iron.

"Why should I?"

"Leave Bets out of this," I demand, feeling weaker than ever. I can hardly move at all now. She lets out a laugh and throws her head back, straightening up above me and letting her arms fly to either side, looking across the grassy field. I follow her gaze to Betty—my Betty on the ground, bleeding from the mouth, her shirt stained and her body limp, her head fallen to one side. Her lips are parted and her arms are laid out in an awkward fashion. Then I notice the thing Penny is laughing at.

"No. No. No!" is all I can manage to get out.

"Looks like it's too late," Penny says, walking away.

Betty's eyes are left open, giving me a blank stare right into my soul. I stare back into hers and find that there is almost nothing left. She's gone. My Betty is gone. Home. Love. Everything I've ever had. She was the only thing, the only good thing, and now she's gone. No. That just can't be. I can't survive if that's the truth.

"Bets," I mumble through my tears as the rest of my body is unable to move. "Please. You can't. Come on, Betty."

"Juggie!" a voice shouts. I am pulled back to where I am when I realize that none of that was happening. I was seeing it behind my eyelids. I open my eyes and clear my throat, moving my head from my lap. I look up to see Betty kneeling in front of me in her pink shirt with her hands on either side of my shoulders, almost enclosing me.

"Bets," I say.

"Yeah," she says, nodding her head. "I'm right here."

I reach across the space between us and grab her, holding her as tight as I can.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here," she says. "But I'm here now."

Betty puts her arms around my neck and back, letting her head fall to the top of my hat, making me feel safe. I let her hold onto me. I rest my arms around her body too, holding my love in my arms. I try not to think about the horror that was behind my eyes just moments ago. I try to push all of that away as I let the warmth and comfort from Betty calm me.

"I love you," she says.

"I love you too," I promise back. "It was you. You were dead."

"I'm not dead," she assures in a firm voice that makes me think she knows just how real those stupid things are. It still feels real even though I am holding her in my arms. I can still feel that uncomfortable tremor in my hands and that shaking in my chest. I can even still feel the pain in my gut that is growing over time.

"It wasn't real. In fact, none of this was ever real," Betty says. "It was all just a hoax."

"What do you mean?" I ask, keeping her body close to me to dull the ache in my gut and calm the shaking in my hands.

"This is almost over," she promises. I finally pull away, wiping my face off. I suddenly become very aware that everything has changed. I calm myself quickly.

"What?" I demand.

"It's almost over. We found out that this was a smokescreen," Betty says. She turns back to Sweet Pea who has his arms over his chest, standing right behind her.

"We got into the principals office where we found the evidence. This was an agreement made between the farm…" Sweet Pea trails off, looking to his counterpart. Betty turns back to me looking annoyed but thankful that we finally have the truth. I am eager to find out but just as she says it, I realize I already know.

"Principal Weatherbee," I finish for her.

They both nod.

"This whole thing has been a hoax," Veronica says in horror.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Archie says. I push myself to stand, gathering my energy and my friends as we rush toward the door.

 **Alright guys…the episode tonight was AWESOME so I'm going to be writing some extended season for season 4. Which scenes do you want extended? Also, please follow, read and review my MALEC story. If you like anything shadowhunter related, let me know what you want to see expanded (book wise).**


	108. Fear Fog XI

**Riverdale High is still under quarantine but the gang is determined to get the hell out. How will they fight their way out?**

 **Part XI. Last Chapter!**

 **Jughead POV.**

 **I will be writing other side stories from Season 4 soon!**

 **Happy new year everyone!**

 **Please answer this: what is your favorite season of Riverdale so far?**

 **My answer: Season One.**

"I have strict orders not to allow you to leave these parts," the school police officer states. Betty rushes up next to me. I grab her around her waist and hold tightly onto her, the fear of my previous visions still haunts my memory coming out in tremors at the edges of my fingertips. I try to appear brave but the truth is that I do not feel brave at all. I sort of feel like crawling into a ball and sleeping for a week.

"Look, we figured out what this is. If we don't get out of here, whatever the farm is planning to do is going to succeed. We have to get out of here right now!" Betty shouts.

"I'm sorry. I cannot let any of you out of this school until the quarantine has been cleared," the guard explains. I lean back on my heels, looking around at the people surrounding me. My friends who look afraid, tattered and beaten. They look like they have been to hell and back and this is all just a hoax. This is all just some scheme that Edgar has cooked up, just like the way that he manages to hypnotize people.

"Is Evelyn here?" Betty asks.

"I have no way of knowing," the guard says, looking indifferent. Betty looks from him to me and then back again. I can see that anger boiling in the back of her throat. Her hands start to shake at her sides as they form into fists. She parts her lips, her eyes squinting at him as the anger bubbles to the surface, ready to explode.

"Of course not. And you're not effected either. I'm sure wherever Principal Weatherbee is, he's not effected either," Betty says, shaking her head.

"Edgar is somehow doing all of this from afar, probably so that he can get move more of his people into Riverdale," Archie says.

"I'm tired of this," I tell them both. "I'm done being here. I can't handle this feeling anymore."

"Cool it, Jones," Sweet Pea warns, but I ignore him. I grab the police officer, some useless officer that they sent here to break up school fights. I push him against the doors, holding him down as he attempts to fight. Just when I think he might have the upper hand, Sweet Pea catches on and puts his forearm across his entire chest, keeping him entirely still against the double doors. I reach into my back pocket and grab my switch blade, flipping it open right under the man's chin.

"The Farm is responsible for this and if we do not get out right now, they are going to get away with whatever it is that they are doing on the other side!" I say to him in a dark, foreboding tone. I let every part of my anger and Serpent Kingliness come through my words. "You let us through those doors and I will let you live."

"How would you get away with that?" he asks, his voice shaking and giving him away. He knows that while I might not be the one to kill him, it's clear that Sweet Pea would do it if I ordered it. On one hand, that's terrifying and on the other, it gives me more power than I have ever had my entire life and I love it.

"I'm the sheriff's son. I can do whatever I want. I could tell them I saw you stab your own throat when you went into one of those trances," I say with a small smirk. "It doesn't really matter. You'd be dead and everyone here would be unreliable witness, considering the drugs that we are all probably on."

His fear grows clearly as he shakes in his skin.

"Let's get out of here, Jughead," Archie says. I ignore him.

"You're going to let us out and I am going to open the doors for the rest of the high schoolers,"

"Jug! Veronica's losing it again!" Archie shouts. "Hurry this up!"

When I turn around I find that Veronica is passed out in Archie's arms, moaning so low that I can barely hear her. Her eyes are rolled back but it is more than clear that she is in yet another hallucination. We need to get out of here before we find out what happens after this next round.

"Do it now or your dead!" I shout.

He shakes his head.

"Do it," Sweet Pea adds, his dark eyes glaring at the man. The overweight cop looks from me to Sweet Pea and back again. Before I know it, I am pushed out of the way. The knife is taken from my hand and Betty is holding it against his throat, a small trickle of blood dripping down his neck to his chest, ruining his uniform.

"They might not kill you," Betty whispers. "Do you see that crazy look in my eyes?"

He does not respond but there is a moment where I am pretty sure he is pissing his pants.

"I don't want to murder you," Betty says, a strange smile spreading across her face. It scares even me. I back away from her, watching the evil come over her body in a way that I have never seen before. "But I do want your fingers."

The man starts nodding dramatically, his hands slowly going up in a defensive position. Betty grins at him, holding the knife slightly away and taking her weight off of him. Sweet Pea backs up, almost as if on her command, which would make me hot for her if we weren't in this current situation. The officer goes to the door, fumbling with his keys and unlocks the door, reaching above him to release the final lock before the double doors are pushed open.

I grab the knife from Betty's hand and for a moment I see the look in her eyes that she was talking about, that the others have said before. That look of hate and anger and need for power. Maybe she is capable of things that I do not understand. I grab the knife from her quickly. She releases it when her eyes go from lion to doe.

"Let's get out of here," I beg of her.

"Guys! Veronica's waking up!" Archie says.

"I'm not feeling great," Sweet Pea admits.

When I look to him, I find that he is wavering on his feet, his chest rising and falling rapidly. I am about to reach over to catch him when Archie pushes past me, knocking me toward the door and running out of it. I grab Sweet Pea on my way out and in a horrible rush, we all make out way out onto the concrete. I pull Sweet Pea along even as he wavers. Betty is rushing after us, calling after Cheryl who is no longer listening to the troubles that the rest of us are having.

"Veronica, it's okay. You're okay. We're out," Archie is saying, holding Veronica's body as she wails and kicks to get away from him. He attempts to hold her down but her arms go flailing and she attempts to push him away, kicking with everything that she has. I rush over to him and help hold down her arms, pulling them away from his face where a long claw mark has been left bloody against the side of his face.

"It's okay, Ronnie!" Archie shouts.

"Come on, V," Betty says above us both. "We're fine. We're out. It's all over now."

Veronica finally stops fighting us, her raven hair draping across the back of Archie's arm, her eyes opening to the bright blue sky above us. I look up at the sky, following her gaze and find a beautiful white puffy cloud.

"You're okay," Archie mumbles. I turn to Sweet Pea and find him giving me a thumbs up, standing above us. I nod toward him. I check on Betty who gives me a relieved smile that reaches her eyes.

"We're out. It's over," I say. "It's finally over."

 **Question: What is your favorite season of Riverdale?**

 **My Answer: Season 1**


	109. Goodbye Fred Andrews

**Betty finds Jughead very upset in their room while getting ready for Mr. Andrews funeral. 4x01.**

 **Betty POV.**

 **Goodbye Mr. Andrews. One shot.**

I finish curling my hair and let it fall along the sides of my face, placing it nicely on my shoulders. I fix it three more times, though I know I shouldn't have to. It's not as if Mr. Andrews is going to care. That was a dumb thought. I slip my shoes on and make myself leave the bathroom. I hate wearing black. I hate wearing anything darker than light pink most of the time. But black? This just makes me feel as dark as I feel on the inside right now and that really bothers me.

I push my bedroom door open, looking down at my feet.

"Hey, Juggie was thinking—" I stop when I see him. He must not have known that I was coming in so quickly because he does not look as if he was waiting for me or even knew that he was not going to be alone. Jughead is sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, leaning his elbows on his knees and not looking up to find me.

"Juggie?" I ask him.

He doesn't respond. I walk further into the room, watching his shoulders shake. He's crying. I rush over to him and throw myself onto the bed beside him, wrapping my arm around his back. He leans into me and without thought I hold him tighter, squeezing him at his side.

"I miss him too," I mutter. It sounds stupid but it is the only thing that I can think to say. Mr. Andrews was the best. He was so kind and ready to help anyone that needed it. He was always there for me and I couldn't save him. I was supposed to be a great detective and I couldn't save my own friend, my own neighbor from my father. He was such a great man and a great father, always trying to do the right thing and help others make good decisions. But he had to be the one to leave us.

"He took me in, Bets," he mumbles.

"I know," is all I can think to say. Jughead turns to me so that finally I can see his beautiful face. He has tears under his eyes, his lips trembling the way they do. I reach across and put my hands to either side of his face, looking into those perfect eyes that have gone dark recently.

"He helped anyone. He took me in. He fed me. I had no one, Bets. I was homeless and the moment that he found out, he made sure that no matter what, I had a home. Even when he couldn't afford it, he did everything he could to keep me. And then after that he found me a good home," Juggie says. "He never let me alone. He was better than any of my family. When my mom told me that I couldn't come see her, that I had to be homeless instead of coming to be with her and Jellybean, he took me in."

"Jughead," I say, putting my hands to the nape of his neck and playing with his hair gently. I twirl it around in my fingers a few times. He leans into my touch, clearly grateful. He gives me a small smile through his tear-stained face. I lean across him to kiss him gently on the lips. He hardly is able to kiss me back but it is enough for me to feel him really with me.

"Can you do this, Jughead?" I ask.

"No," he says, shaking his head and giving me a sad but honest smile. None of us can really do this. If we had to say goodbye to anyone else maybe we could have managed. Maybe we all could have seen some justice or understanding if it had been my dad or maybe even FP. None of us would have liked it, but Fred? He was the last person we all wanted to say goodbye to.

"But we have to be there for Archie," Jughead says. "He's really beating himself up about this. He kept telling me that it was his fault and he should have trusted his dad more. He should have been there for him more, all of this other stuff. He was really upset. I don't know how he's going to still be Archie without his dad."

I shrug. I have no idea either. He's right. Archie has always been with his dad. He has always counted on him more than anyone else. We all have. If there was something any of us needed, we went to him and now we don't have him.

"At least his mom is in town," I say.

"He won't be alone," Jughead agrees.

"We'll make sure of that."

Jughead shakes his head and quickly wraps his arms around my body as tightly as he can. I grab him in a long embrace, holding him close to my body. Our hug tightens as our arms grasp at each other, the hug turning into a desperate gesture. He slams his chest against mine and I hold onto his back with my fingers, clutching at his dark clothes. After a while of this desperate hugging, Jughead is the one to pull away first. I feel a strange sensation behind my eyes and wonder if I am finally going to break down and cry but then hold it back. I can't do that right now. We have to go. We have to be as strong as possible for Archie.

"I love you," Juggie says.

"I love you too," I say. I reach out and hold his hand, looking down at our interlocked fingers.

"Just keep holding my hand," I say. "We'll take this day one moment at a time."

He gives me a reassuring nod.

"That's all we can do."

I push myself to stand and grab his hat off of the bed, reaching over to put it on his head, straightening the pins out and pulling down the flaps of the crown with a satisfied smile.

"I'm not ready for this," I say.

"Me either," Jughead agrees. "But it's time, Bets. It's time to say goodbye to Fred Andrews."

 **Hope you enjoyed that very short one shot! I will be writing more season 4 one shots soon!**


	110. Betty's Regrets

**Betty thinks about her love for Jughead and what she has done by cheating on him.**

 **Betty POV.**

I couldn't help myself. It was like a few years ago when I pushed Chuck into that hottub. I just had to do it. Something took me over. Something dark. It was like when I saw Mom and Polly sacrifice the twins. Right before my seizure. I didn't have a choice. But this time I did. This time I picked it. This time I wanted to be with Archie.

Oh god. How could I do that to him?

He is so loyal to me. He is everything that I could ever want. He found my darkness and instead of putting me down for it, instead of telling me it was wrong, he harvested that darkness. He saw that it was something that he and I shared. He could have turned me down when he knew just how dark that evil could get, but he didn't. He tried to help me. And I hurt him.

Then he came in and he kissed me and I couldn't tell him.

He apologized to me.

And I am the one that wrecked everything. Why did I do that?

Because I wanted to.

That is the real problem, isn't it? The back to school dance was supposed to change everything. Archie was supposed to ask me out. He and I were supposed to be together after that. But he told me that I was too good for him, that he would never good enough for me. The reality was that he was too good for me. He might have had some dark moments, but his intentions were always good.

Sometimes I don't even have intentions.

I broke up with Jughead because I was too weak to tell him about the Black Hood's calls. But then I told Veronica before him? And Archie? How could I trust them and not my own boyfriend? Was I really that afraid of the Black Hood or was I afraid that Jughead wouldn't forgive me?

I lied to Jughead about college until someone else figured it out. Of course I was jealous that he got to go to Yale and I didn't. I wanted to be happy for him but really I was just unhappy for me.

Jughead's birthday party. I know that he doesn't like parties. I have known him since we were kids. I wanted to throw that party because I thought that proving to him that I would go out of my way to do something special for him would make him love me? I don't know. But I do know that I hurt him that night by doing something that wasn't what he wanted.

Why can't I just pay attention to him?

Why can't I just do things for Jughead?

He is the one that has always protected me.

He made me the Serpent Queen, even if that meant losing more than half of the Southside Serpents because Toni left. He saw my darkness. He let me use it to lead the Serpents, to be a part of a group. They mattered to me. But lately I have let them slide. Sweet Pea was nowhere to be found for months and I let it slide because I was too worried about the stupid StoneWall Prep freaks. I should have been worried about my gang. I should have cared about the people that cared about me. They let me rule them when they didn't trust me. I made them trust me and now? Now that I have betrayed their leader? They will never forgive me.

I'll never forgive myself.

I invested everything in the relationship with Jughead and I just threw it away for a moment with Archie.

Was it just a moment? I don't know. Maybe it was more than that. Maybe it was more than just a kiss. After all, I kissed Archie before and it did not feel like the kiss that we felt just now. That kiss was so much deeper. That kiss was so much more.

When I saw him looking at me from his room, I thought my heart was going to melt. I thought one very clear thing: everything is different. I love Jughead for what he has done for me, for what we have together. I love him for who he is, for what he gives up for me. But there is something more. There is something different.

There is a darkness that I have that Juggie can overcome. He can understand it in ways that Archie will never be able to.

But there is a dark Archie now. Archie and I have felt a lot of losses these past few months but we have had each other. With Jughead gone and us pretending to be together, we unlocked something that we never thought we would have to go back to. We thought it was gone forever, that we might never feel those feelings again. But then I was singing with him and I saw that perfect face and there was a moment where I was at the back to school dance sophomore year and I was looking into his eyes and I knew that everything was going to be fine.

But then everything blew up in my face. That is why I am not sure why I thought it was going to work out for me this time around.

In the midst of my thoughts, Jughead comes in. He walks into the room in quiet and takes off his shoes and jeans. Since the room is dark, he has no idea that I am awake. I turn over on my side and look out the window, wondering what Archie is doing or thinking. I wonder if he feels as bad as I do. I wonder if he is longing for me as much as I am for him.

What a horrible thought.

Then Jughead scoots into bed with me. I feel his shirtless body curve against my back. He pulls me toward him, wrapping his bare arm around my waist.

"Sorry it's late, Bets," he whispers. "I was working hard for you."

For me.

I believe that. He was working hard because he wanted to make me happy. He wanted me to be proud of him, to be comfortable with the fact that we are going to go to college together next year.

I was the one who worried about that so much and now…I think it is going to be my fault if we are not together.

"It's okay," I say.

"I love you," he says. I feel his body relaxing against our bed beside me. He squeezes me a little bit before his lips brush against my shoulder blade and I am sure that he is falling asleep.

Falling asleep holding onto me as he does nearly every night because no matter what I do, he still loves me.

"I love you too," I say because I know that to be true. But I know something else is true too and it's terrifying.

 _Archie Andrews, I think I love you and I have no idea what to do about it._


End file.
